


Cross-Species Liaison

by Frostbite711



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Drama, Earthborn (Mass Effect), F/M, Fluff, Indoctrination Theory, Nightmares, PTSD, Paragon Shepard (Mass Effect), Possible smut, Romance, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 41,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24954709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostbite711/pseuds/Frostbite711
Summary: There can never be Shepard without Vakarian. Through all their trials, all the battles, and all those lost along the way, nothing was able to break their friendship that later blossomed into something much deeper. Earthborn, Sole Survivor, Paragon Shepard.Act 1: Mass Effect 2Act 2: Mass Effect 3Possible Act 3 after the Reaper War"Indoctrination Theory" accompanied with the Destroy Ending.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Liara T'Soni & Original Male Character
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue

Amalia’s stomach dropped as she received the message from Kaidan Alenko while she was on her way to help Ashley Williams. Both of her teammates were trying to ensure that the bombs that were placed down would go off, even if it risked their lives. She’d only just started on her way to help Ashley when the news that Kaidan was in trouble came to her.

  
She felt the weight of her decision on her shoulders, but she didn’t have much time to think about who to save. She started to turn around to save Kaidan, her heart aching to save the man she’d started to grow fond of. That’s when his voice came over the comms, telling her to help Ashley instead.

  
But you’ll die. She thought, even while Ashley also protested. Amalia clutched her hum tigger and looked at Garrus and Wrex who watched her and waited for her decision. Garrus met her gaze and gave her a nod. Shaking her head, she decided and headed to help Ashley. She knew deep down that Kaidan would die, but she had to have faith that he would be able to hold out for as long as possible. Ashley was young and had her whole life ahead of her, Amalia wouldn’t take that from her, even if it hurt her to leave behind the man she cared for.

  
The fight got heavy as they went to save Ashley, and then Saren appeared. The one who had helped cause all of this. Amalia clenched her teeth at the sight of him, but as she listened to him, she realized he was being indoctrinated by the Reaper known as Sovereign. He didn’t seem to even realize it.

  
As she and Saren fought, he started to get the upper hand before she surprised him and then the Normandy arrived, sending him retreating. While she and the others ran aboard the ship, she glanced back one time at the facility, knowing Kaidan was still down there. She knew it would be too risky to help him. If only Saren hadn’t arrived, then she might have been able to save him.

  
Her team sat in the debriefing room in silence for a few minutes, thinking about their lost teammate.

  
“I can’t believe Kaidan didn’t make it. How could we just leave him down there?” Ashley said, breaking the silence.

  
“There was no time. I couldn’t save you both, the bomb was about to go off,” Amalia said, turning to look at her.

  
“It should’ve been me, Commander. You know that.”

  
“It wasn’t your call Williams. I had to choose. I chose you.”

  
“I’m sorry, Commander, you saved my life. I’m grateful for that. But it should’ve been me. Alenko was a superior officer, I would’ve gladly stayed behind.”

  
“It wasn’t your fault or my fault. The only one to blame here is Saren.”

  
“Yes Ma’am. I’m-- We’ll get it done,” Ashley said, stopping herself from arguing further.

  
Amalia knew she was upset, because she was as well. While she wouldn’t admit it outloud, she knew she was responsible for his death and it killed her inside that she’d had to choose. And that she hadn’t chosen him. But it was too late now, she’d made her decision and there was no taking it back.

  
There was a bit more conversation from the group before she dismissed them.

  
She stared across the room, not noticing Garrus has remained until he cleared his throat and spoke, “Commander.”

  
Blinking, she pulled herself from her melancholy thoughts and looked at him. “Yes Garrus?”

  
“I can tell the decision wasn’t easy for you. We all realize you were close to Alenko, so for what it’s worth: I’m sorry and stop blaming yourself. You said so yourself that sometimes people will die. Let’s not make his sacrifice be in vain.”

  
She stared at him, a little taken aback by his words but she nodded. She gave him a tight smile, burying her emotions like she usually did and putting on her brave face which she knew the crew needed. “Thank you, Garrus,” she said to him to which he nodded in recognition and then left her alone.

  
Once he was gone, she frowned, allowing her mask to drop. She knew Garrus was right, but it didn’t help how she felt. For as long as she lived, she knew she would suffer from the guilt of leaving Kaidan behind. Yes, she had saved Ashley and many innocent lives, but Kaidan was still dead. Her only consolation was that she would make Sovereign pay for indoctornating Saren and putting her into the position where she had to choose who to save.

  
She vowed to herself that from then on, she would do whatever she could in her power to save as many lives as possible. She knew she wouldn’t be able to save everyone, but she would do her best or die trying. Never again would she lose a team member, especially the ones she cared about most, without a fight.


	2. Chapter 1

As he spotted her in the scopes of his gun, he couldn’t help but pause. How was it possible? She was dead. And yet, here she was, once again defying the odds: alive and well as she raced towards him with the gangs who were trying to take him out. Or perhaps she was a ghost or a machine designed to look like her. But who would know him well enough to make a machine that looked like her?

  
He didn’t think she knew who he was, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually harm her, even if she wasn’t real. She was a friend and mentor to him two years ago. So instead he fired rounds at her that would look like he didn’t know who she was.

  
As he heard the sound of gunfire and the freelance merchs that had been with her go down, he smiled to himself. If she gunned down those Merchs, then the likelihood of her trying to kill him or her being a hallucination was slim.

  
“Archangel?” she questioned once she reached the second floor with her companions and spotted him.

  
He glanced at her and held up a hand, having noticed another merch trying to sneak up. He aimed his gun and after a moment of patience, waited for the merch to try moving from behind their cover where he then nailed them right in the head.

  
Once that was done, he set his gun down and turned toward the human woman as he removed his helmet. “Shepard. I thought you were dead.”

  
He watched her as her violet eyes sparked with recognition as soon as his helmet was removed and a small smile crept up on her face. “Garrus! What are you doing here?”

  
“A little target practice,” he mused, a little worn out from having to stay alert for so long. “Keeping the skills sharp.”

  
“Are you okay?” she asked, a small hint of concern tipping her voice.

  
“Been better. But it sure is good to see a friendly face,” he responded, glancing up at her. “Killing merchs is hard work. Especially on my own.”

  
She had a few more questions for him which he answered, still finding it hard to believe she was alive after she’d been declared dead. But he had to cut her questions short as they both knew that the merchs wouldn’t sit around waiting for them forever. He promised her before they split up to handle the merchs that if they made it out alive, he’d tell her more of what happened. Besides, he had a few questions of his own.

* * *

She paced back and forth in the debriefing room, listening to Jacob as he spoke about Garrus’s wounds he’d sustained from the gun ship. Though he reassured her that the Turian would live, she couldn’t help but worry. He was one of her closest friends and even a confidant more than once back when they went up against Saren.

  
Just then the door to the room opened and Amalia glanced up, relief flooding through her at the sight of her friend standing and very much alive. Her gaze glanced toward the scar on his face and she felt a tinge of regret. If only she’d been faster, perhaps she could have--no. She stopped herself from going down that path. She knew there was nothing she could’ve done. It was a miracle he was even alive.

  
As Jacob left her with Garrus, her friend made a remark about how only Krogan females would find his scars attractive. She smirked a bit and responded with a joke of her own about him being ugly. Of course, she’d never really believed he was ugly. In fact, she found him quite attractive for an alien.

  
He tried to laugh but then shook his head. “Ow, don’t make me laugh,” he said.

  
“Well, now that you’re here, I suppose I should tell you why we came to find you. We’re going up against a group of aliens called the Collectors who have been kidnapping colonists. We need your help to stop them, and I need someone I can trust.”

  
“Damn, Shepard, you really don’t set your bar low,” he said with a shake of his head. “Alright, I’ll help you.”

  
She smiled inwardly, even while she hid her expression and gave him a nod. While they had been through so much together after defeating Saren, they’d both changed. Even if hers was more cosmetic than emotional.

  
As he left, she couldn’t help but think about what she’d missed the last two years. She wished she’d been able to be there for her old crew, but that hadn’t been the way things happened. She couldn’t reverse time and she had done everything she could for her team back then.

  
She sighed and tried not to dwell on it, but her thoughts drifted once more to Kaidan. While for everyone else it had been two years that they remembered, for her it had seemed like only a few weeks. She looked down at the comm room table while she thought back to that day, wishing things could’ve ended differently, and didn’t seem to notice how long she’d been there until EDI brought her attention back to the job at hand.

  
Shaking her head, she headed to the command center to figure out the next course of action and plan where they would head next.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I wanted to let you know that I'm having a lot of fun with this story. I hope to get to the ending events of the third game, and possibly write either a sequel, or show a bit of what happened to her and Garrus after the Crucible in this story. Let me know which you would prefer.
> 
> Yes, it will be a ways away, but I want to at least have a basic idea of where to start so that I won't have to worry about it as much when it gets closer to that point int Amalia and Garrus's story.

As she sat in the transport with Garrus, she listened to him talk a bit about the betrayal that he’d gone through. Hearing it made her heart ache for him. She looked at his face, meeting his gaze. “Garrus, are you sure you want to do this? Perhaps there’s another way.”

“I would’ve thought the same too, until I was betrayed.”

She sighed. “Garrus, this may not make you feel better, don’t kill him.”

“If you’d been betrayed like I have you might think differently. Besides, he needs to pay for the good men that paid for his betrayal.”

“Garrus…” she trailed off and glanced away. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, remembering something from the past. “Even if I was betrayed, I wouldn’t let it compromise who I am now. We’re better than this.”

He glanced away and said nothing to that. She looked down at her lap, hoping what she’d said had gotten through to him, even if only a little bit.

. . .

She managed to talk Garrus out of killing Sidonis, and as they returned to the _Normandy_ , his words continued to echo in her mind. “If you’d been betrayed”. Memories swirled to the surface, memories she’d done her best to hide.

Upon arriving at the _Normandy_ she made her way to her room to think. She needed time to sort through her memories, though she promised Garrus she would listen to him when he was ready.

She retreated to her cabin, memories of pain resurfacing and threatening to drown her. She removed her armor in a trail along the floor of her cabin., needing to just _get it off_ , and now sat on her bed with her legs curled towards her and her arms wrapped around them.

_Darkness, pain, the wetness of sweat and blood carving paths onto her skin, conversing together. Metal chafing her wrists and ankles, making her skin raw._

_A spark of determination filling her as she reached for the broken piece of glass she’d gotten from a bottle. She gripped it tightly, not caring about the sting on her hands as the glass pierced her skin. The pain would keep her awake and alert._

_She watched as the door opened, her next tormentor appearing. She watched him approach, and before he could react, she darted upwards, stabbing the glass into his throat. He stumbled back, startled and she quickly snagged the keys on his belt as well as the gun and she unlocked herself before escaping._

Her body shook with the memory and she struggled to not cry and be the helpless girl she’d been when she’d first been sent to that awful place. She felt her fingers digging into the skin of her arm, needing to inflict pain to try bringing her back to the present. She felt barely the sting of her nails piercing her flesh, making her bleed.

What brought her out of her memories was EDI’s voice over the comm. “Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian wanted to speak with you. He’s outside your cabin..”

Amalia blinked and uncurled herself, putting on her brave face before she stood to her feet. “I’m on my way,” she said as she made sure to wipe any tears from her face and to hide any instances of what she’d just experienced.

“Commander, forgive me for saying, but if you’re having a hard time, perhaps you should wait to speak with him.”

“No, no. I’m fine. But thanks EDI,” she said before she opened her cabin door to see Garrus outside, looking partially like he had been considering leaving.

As the door opened, he looked at her, seeming a bit unsure of himself. He seemed to sense something about her was off. “Shepard, should I come back later?” he asked, his eyes darting to her body.

She frowned and glanced down, realizing that she was wearing a simple tank top and shorts -- what she always wore under her armor. “No, I’m fine, we can speak in my cabin if you’d like. Or go for a walk,” she said.

He stared at her for a moment before glancing away and clearing his throat. “Perhaps a walk would be better.”

“Right, let me get on a jacket and cargo pants,” she said, turning. She didn’t really need one, but when she wasn’t in her room, she preferred to at least try to dress like a commanding officer: and walking around with her tank top and shorts on probably wasn’t it.

As she turned, she heard him make a sound and before she could get too far, his three fingered hand was suddenly gripping her arm. Her gaze went to where he was gripping her and stared. “Shepard? What happened?! These look like…” his voice trailed off, causing her to stop staring at his hand and look up into his face.

What she saw there made her chest hurt more than hearing about what had happened to him. She saw concern in his blue eyes. Concern that she so rarely got from anyone else. His gaze made her breath hitch and she couldn’t think of anything but his beautiful eyes.

“Those are fingernail marks. Why did you hurt yourself?” he asked, his voice soft and low. Not cruel or angry, but concerned.

She looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed of herself. She didn’t want to show anyone her weaknesses. Weaknesses got you hurt. Weaknesses got you killed. Even if she’d lost a lot of friends in her past, she’d usually done her best to keep up her walls, to keep her heart from breaking. Trust was hard earned with her, it had been hard for her to open up, even a little bit to Alenko and the crew of the original Normandy.

But now...none of them were here. None but Garrus. One of her closest friends and trusted allies. She trusted him to guard her back and stick up for her when no one else did. That’s what he’d done when they’d run into Ashley. He’d joined her without questioning her. He trusted her and followed her because of his trust in her, even if she was currently working with Cerberus.

“Shepard, if there’s something you want to tell me, you can. But if you’re not ready, I’ll understand. You were willing to wait for me to feel ready, I’ll do the same for you,” he said.

She looked up and met his gaze again. His words created a small crack in her walls. She could feel it. She wanted to open up to him. She wanted to tell him more about herself, about her past. But at the same time, she was afraid of what would happen if she did. Did she trust him? Yes, no doubt about it. But was she ready to open up? Not yet.

She looked away again, breaking eye contact. “I...I’ll tell you later. I’m just. I’m not ready to open up. I hope you understand,” she said, looking up at him at the last sentence.

His gaze softened and as he loosened his grip, she felt a sort of sad sensation at the loss of his warmth on her arm. “I'll clean this up and dress in a more professional manner. Then we can talk about what happened to you, that is if you still want to,” she said to him.

He nodded. “You deserve to know after what you did to help me.”

She nodded in response and headed back into her cabin, exiting a few minutes later with a jacket and cargo pants on.

* * *

He didn’t know what state he’d expected to find her in when he’d come to her quarters, but he had certainly been a bit shocked. He’d never seen her show that much of her skin. It had stirred something in him and it made him wonder what it would feel like to touch her smooth skin with his bare hand.

But then he’d seen the nail marks on her skin and he’d felt anger rise within him. He wanted to know what made her hurt herself like that. What could possibly make her pierce her own skin?

He wanted to ask, he wanted to know, but he could tell by the way she held herself and looked at him that she wasn’t ready to tell. It was almost like she was afraid to tell, to let whatever barriers she had to fall.

He could sense she had barriers, stronger than anyone he’d known. He didn’t think anyone on this crew or the previous one had ever managed to break them down. Perhaps Kaidan had, but the man was gone and Garrus would never be able to ask him.

So instead of trying to pry, he relented, allowing her to keep her walls up if it made her feel safe. He knew her well enough to know that even after all this time, she never felt completely safe, so if there was anything he could do to help her with that, he would do so.

As they walked through the ship, he talked. He told her about what had happened and she listened. He watched her as her expression became thoughtful and curious. He could tell she wanted to know more about his crew he’d gathered. So he told her what he felt was important and she seemed to understand that.

While they talked, he couldn’t help but be glad she was here. Glad she was alive and that they were able to spend time together again, even if it wasn’t entirely like the old days. Of course, things would never be able to go back the way they had been, too much had changed, but at least there was this. There was their friendship.

Garrus knew he would do anything for his friend. She’d helped and encouraged him so much. She had been there for him and helped show him that there was still good in this galaxy. Part of it seemed like nothing had happened, even though it had, for him at least, though he knew that to her, the only things that had changed for her was a new objective and whatever disconnect she felt having been dead for two years.

They eventually found themselves at the observation deck. She leaned against the railing and looked out at the passing stars. He leaned against the railing near her.

“I know that to me our time apart was so short, Garrus, but I’m glad you’re here now with me. I don’t want to think about what it would be like to go on this mission without you.”

“Knowing you, you’d probably do fine. Even if you had to beat them with your sheer stubbornness.”

She laughed at that and he watched her. Something inside him fluttered at her laugh. He didn’t often hear her laugh. It was a nice sound.

“Maybe. But you could get them to back down with just your looks. Or perhaps you’d disarm them with that voice of yours.”

His mandibles flicked out in a smile as he leaned in and his sub harmonics subconsciously rumbled through him as his voice dipped. “Oh really now?” He didn’t completely understand what she meant by his voice, but he was curious.

He watched slightly as she suddenly seemed to look a bit sheepish and her face turned red. “Shepard?” He questioned, “are you alright?”

“Um…” she trailed off and through his visor, he noticed the elevation in her heart rate, something he’d noticed she’d had when flirting with Kaidan. He wasn’t entirely sure what that meant. “I’m okay...it’s just…”

She paused again and glanced away from him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you when Sidonis betrayed you, but I’m glad I was able to help you come to terms with what happened. I’m glad you decided to let go. I’m still trying to come to terms with all that happened while I was out, seeing you change so much compared to when I last saw you...it’s been difficult for me. You’ve grown while I...I was just rebuilt like a machine.

“Part of me wonders if I am a machine. Even if I feel like flesh and blood and still have my memories. I worry that a part of me isn’t the same, that I’m just some construct that acts like the Shepard you knew,” she said.

He blinked at her, uncertain what to say. She’d voiced some of the thoughts he’d had when he first saw her back on Omega. But he knew that she was wrong, deep down, he knew she was still Shepard.

Gently, he reached out and took her hand, causing her to look at him quizzically. “Listen Shepard, you are you. Whatever brought you back to life didn’t change you. No matter what you think about yourself, I believe that you are still the same woman I met back on the Citadel. The same determined and most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. The same woman who took down Saren and will take down the Collectors as well. The same woman who wouldn’t let me lose myself to revenge and who opened my eyes to see that there is still good in this universe. That goodness is you,” he said.

Once he was done, he noticed small tears slowly beginning to carve their way down her cheeks. He suddenly panicked. Had he said something wrong?

She smiled at him and with her free hand, wiped away the tears. “Thank you, Garrus. I really needed to hear that,” she said.

He felt relief wash over him and as he did so, he suddenly became aware of how close they now were. And he became very aware of the feeling of his hand holding hers and he didn’t know what to do with it. His heart began to speed up and he glanced down at their hands briefly before looking back at her.

He realized she also seemed to notice the closeness and she again started to turn a bit red as her heart rate increased.

“You’re welcome,” he said, clearing his throat and he made to move his hand from hers, but she tightened her grip. He gave her a slightly confused look and noticed how she was glancing down at their interlocked hands.

Then her gaze met his and something in her violet eyes made him freeze. He couldn’t help but stare into her eyes that were as bright as stars. His gaze shifted to take stalk of her face.

“Garrus, in this moment, while I’m feeling brave, I want to say...you’re more than a friend to me. I don’t know exactly how strong or deep my feelings are but you deserve to at least know that. And if you don’t feel the same way, then that’s fine. I will respect any wishes you have and not speak of this moment any more.”

He was silent at her words. Trying to make sense of what she was saying. Sure, he felt their connection was deeper than friends, but how did he truly feel? He wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know either, Shepard. But...there’s no one in the galaxy that I respect for more than you. I’m not opposed to seeing where this goes, but I will need time to figure it out,” he said.

She nodded. “Yeah, same here.” She let go of his hand and stepped back, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. “We’ll take whatever we have one day at a time. If either of us decide we don’t have anything besides respect for each other as friends, then we can just go about our mission. But I will always be here if you need to chat or let off steam,” she said.

He nodded. “Yeah, me too,” he responded.

She gave him an easy smile and then the two of them fell into companionable silence for a few moments longer as they looked out the observation deck at the stars.


	4. Chapter 3

_ Amalia stood in the main battery, watching Garrus while he worked. She cleared her throat and he turned. His eyes lit up at the sight of her and he approached, gently placing a hand on the small of her back and drawing her closer. _

_ “I’ve been wondering when you’d arrive,” he said, his sexy voice reverberating around her, making her feel weak. _

_ She smiled at him. “Well, you’ve got me here now,” she said. _

_ “That I do,” he said before he leaned down, gently nuzzling her before planting kisses on her lips, her cheek, her neck. She gasped a bit at the sensation and wrapped her arms around him, resting one at the back of his head. _

_ No more words were said as he closed the door and took her to a secluded part of the room where he began to claim her while she let him. _

She woke from her dream with a start and she shook her head. Placing a hand on her forehead she stared across her cabin in confusion. She didn’t understand why she suddenly was having those kinds of dreams about him.

She knew she felt connected to Garrus, and she did like him...but it frightened her that she’d have dreams like that of the Turian and yet even though she’d been close with Kaidan, the dreams had never come to her.

She supposed it could be because Garrus wasn’t human so the idea of being with someone not of her race excited her. But it could also mean that she hadn’t liked Kaidan as much as she thought she had. Thinking about it further, Garrus was the first person she’d ever had those kinds of dreams about, and part of that frightened her.

If she was having dreams like this, then how could she face Garrus without those thoughts rushing to her head? How would she be able to remain professional when just the thought of him touching her made butterflies dance in her stomach.

She sighed and slipped out her bed. She would have to figure it out eventually. But first she needed to get some paperwork done. She had to review the left over dossier that the Illusive Man has given her. She’d already brought Tali on board. Her Quarian friend was now spending her time in the engineering deck.

She paused for a moment. Perhaps she should ask Tali what she should do. She didn’t think Tali would be one to gossip about something in secret, and Tali was one of her closest friends aside from Garrus.

She bit her lip, her mind too anxious to focus on the dossier. She needed someone to talk to. There was also Doctor Chakwas. She sighed thoughtfully. She knew the Doctor might know how to help considering she was a doctor, but she wouldn’t want to call the doctor up to her cabin or risk the doctor thinking she was truly ill. She also wasn’t sure if she wanted to risk seeing Garrus with her mind the way it was, and the medbay was almost right next to the main battery.

She sighed again and unceremoniously tossed the dossier onto the desk, making up her mind. She would go see the Doctor. Chakwas would have a better chance to be able to help her than Tali would. But perhaps after the doctor she would go talk to her Quarian friend who she felt was one of the team who was like her little sister.

As she was on her way to the doctor, she came to realize that the crew of the original Normandy had felt like family, more so than her _ real _ family or the Reds ever had. She didn’t remember her parents, they died before she was able to remember much about them. But her brother...She pursed her lips, allowing herself a moment of spiteful remembrance of her asshole of a brother.

Her fists curled at her sides at the thought of him. She remembered what he’d done to her, and part of her would never forgive him for it, but she wouldn’t allow her anger at him make her do something she would regret. Before she could school her features back into something that didn’t look like she wanted violence, the door to the elevator dinged.

“Shepard?” came a questioning call from a voice that was haunting her dreams. “Is there something wrong? Someone who needs their ass kicked?”

She blinked and was brought back to the present. Her fists relaxed and she looked up at the confused face of Garrus. She felt her heart rate speed up at the sight of him. “Oh! No, I’m fine. I was just thinking about the Collectors,” she lied.

His brow plates lifted slightly in a look that said he didn’t believe her.

Figures Garrus would be able to see when she was lying. “Listen, Garrus. It’s nothing really. Don’t worry about me,” she said.

His mandibles pushed closer to his face and he knew there was no point in pressing her, so he dropped the subject, though she could tell he still wanted to say something more about it. They stood in silence for a moment and she couldn’t help the slight quickening pace of her heart and the urge to touch him and to kiss him, but she resisted, reminding herself of why she came down here.

“Well, I need to get going. I wanted to talk to Doctor Chakwas.” Immediately as it left her lips, she realized she shouldn’t have said anything about the doctor, because his face immediately became concerned.

“Are you alright? Are your arms infected?” he asked, concern seeping into his vocals.

Her eyes widened and she lifted a hand. “No, no, nothing like that. It’s just...I need some advice from a Doctor about...stuff.” she said, trying her best to be vague without making things awkward, which could easily happen if she spoke anymore to him. She felt his presence was making it difficult to think or not mess up her words or say the wrong thing, so before he could respond, she slipped out of the elevator and hurried off to speak with the doctor, leaving the baffled Turian watching her walk away.

* * *

He needed to speak with someone. The last few nights he’d been having dreams of  _ her. _ Of feeling her silky smooth skin. Of running his hands through her fringe--hair, he reminded himself. But he didn’t know really anyone he could talk to about this.

He didn’t know there was something wrong with him, or if it was normal. He was considering speaking to Tali about it, as she was the only one besides Joker and Shepard he knew on this ship. He wouldn’t dream of asking Joker because if he brought his thoughts up, the pilot might make jokes at his expense and he wasn’t sure he wanted that kind of teasing.

So with his mind made up, he headed to the elevator but paused as he realized it was in use. When Shepard appeared on the other side, he couldn’t help but be concerned at her expression. Who was she angry at? And worst yet, was it possibly him? He couldn’t think of why she would be angry at him, but this irrational part of his brain said that there was something involving him going through her mind. It didn’t help that when she spotted him, his visor picked up her heartbeat increasing.

They shared a few words, and he was glad to see that at least she wasn't angry at him. But then who was she angry at? It concerned him that she didn’t tell him, but he had a feeling she would open up when she was ready.

As she left him by the elevator, he felt confused at her reaction. Going to see a doctor was concerning. He knew that the two of them had a sort of connection like she had with the rest of the old Normandy crew, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry that something was wrong with her health.

Changing his mind on speaking with Tali, he decided to head back to the main battery and began to pace a bit, trying to mull over his thoughts as well as his conversation with Shepard at the elevator. He wanted to help her with whatever pain she was feeling that made her look like she wanted to murder someone, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t know what was causing that pain. He also didn’t know what to think about his dreams of her, and part of him didn’t want to know. He was worried what it might mean.

A human and a turian? It was an odd pair, and people might cause problems for the two of them if they found out. They could cause problems for  _ her _ . He wasn’t as worried for himself, but he knew that she was a symbol to her people. A symbol of hope. He didn’t want to add any confusion or hardships to her because of him, she had enough problems as it was.

He didn’t know what it felt like to be dead and then to wake up suddenly after all this time passed to realize that things, especially familiar things, had changed around you. He doubted anyone but her would ever know.

He wanted to be there for her, to help her and shield her. He wanted to tell her it was okay, that he would keep anyone from hurting her. He ran a three fingered hand over his face as he came to remember that because of her death, the memory of her feelings for Kaidan were probably fresh in her mind.

That thought stilled his mind. Alenko’s death had hit her harder than she would admit to the crew or out loud. He remembered all those years ago when he’d seen her trying not to break, trying not to lose control. Back then, he’d said something he’d hoped had eased some of her pain, even while he’d wanted to give her a hug and comfort her.

But he hadn’t. He thought it would’ve been both awkward and unwanted, and he didn’t think it would’ve been appropriate to do so. She was the Commander and his best friend back then. Even now, while their relationship had changed due to the passing of time, a part of him wished he’d had the courage to try comforting her better.

He sighed and hung his head, hands gripping the console before him while he looked but didn’t really see what was in front of him. While he was thinking, he realized that even back then, he’d felt something stir in him. Something that had grown strong since her death, and even stronger since she’d found and saved him on Omega. A flicker of desire began to burn within him.

A desire to hold her, to make her his. While the idea of being with a human felt strange to him, Shepard felt different. She was different. He didn’t know anyone like her. Didn’t know anyone who seemed to understand him better.

Of course, he would never force his feelings onto her. That wouldn’t be fair of him, but he wondered if she felt the same thing. If she did, then he would try to do what he could to be what she needed. To be the shoulder she needed to cry on, or the arms to pick her up when she fell. He would do anything for her, and even if she didn’t feel the same way, he would do what he could to help her. He would do his best to not let her down and to not let her experience any more pain or loss.


	5. Chapter 4

“I’m so confused. I never had feelings this intense for Alenko,” Amalia said, running her hands through her blond hair that just barely touched her shoulders.

“I’m no psychiatrist, but have you considered your feelings for Garrus run deeper than you believed?”

“He’s my best friend. I…” the Commander paused and looked down at her feet, resting her elbows on her knees and propping her head up with her hands. “I am scared. Scared of where this might lead. Am I crazy to consider wanting someone not of my own race?”

Karin Chakwas watched Amalia for a moment. “As your doctor, I could tell you that physically your bodies are different. But as your friend, I will tell you that if being with someone not of your own race makes you happy, then you shouldn’t let others tell you otherwise.”

Amalia was silent while she thought about what Chakwas had said. Closing her eyes, she nodded before she stood up. “Alright, thank you. That helps. I think...I think I’ll speak with Garrus.”

The doctor smiled. “I wish you luck, Commander,” she said as the doors to the medbay opened and the Commander walked out, heading for the main battery.

She hesitated outside the main battery. She didn’t know if he was in there, after all, she’d seen him at the elevator, but she thought she should at least try. Reaching a hand up, she knocked lightly on the door.

There was a moment where all she could hear was the thudding of her heart in her chest and the sounds from the mess hall drifted away before the door opened and she saw Garrus, glancing toward the entrance. His blue eyes widened just slightly and he turned to face her, standing up. He looked like he’d been crouched over the console, either doing calibrations or thinking. She didn’t know which.

“Shepard,” he said with a slight surprised tone in his voice.

“Vakarian,” she said, nervously ringing her hands. She rarely ever used his last name unless something serious was bothering her. Having noticed that, he waited until she was inside before he closed the door behind her.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked, crossing his arms.

Her gaze focused on that movement, watching his hands to steady her mind and her heart which was thundering rapidly in her chest, threatening to break out. She worried that he could hear it from here, although she knew his visor would probably pick up on her spiked heart rate.

“Yeah...I wanted to...we need to talk,” she said, still not meeting his gaze.

“Shepard, you’re making me nervous. What’s wrong?” he asked, concern seeping into his voice, causing her to finally look into his worried face.

“I don’t know how to say this. I don’t want to ruin what we have by saying something wrong. I’ve never done this before, I’ve never...felt this way before,” she said, trying to clear her thoughts, though it was getting harder and harder to do so while she was there with him. She shifted her gaze and paced slightly, trying to calm her nerves which were making her hands shake and go numb.

“We’ve been through a lot: Virmire, Saren, Sidonis, and soon to be the Collectors. Time for me has seemed shorter than it has to everyone else. My emotions might still be raw from the loss of Alenko back on Virmire, but…” she sighed. “I’ve not had the best life growing up on the streets of earth. I was content once I was found by the alliance and joined their ranks and was given food, shelter, and a home better than the Reds ever gave me.

“Once I became the Commander of the Normandy, I finally found a family, but even then I never felt completely safe. Since I was...abandoned by the only blood relative I knew, I’ve always had my guard up, always had a barrier between myself and others, even with Alenko, I didn’t let my walls down. I didn’t let him see the scarred person that I was, I didn’t let him see the darkness inside, the brokenness and emptiness that I can’t seem to fix.”

She paused and finally, finally met his gaze. “But with you, it’s different. You’ve been a constant in my life since we first met on the Citadel. You’ve been a friend and so much more to me. You were the only one who noticed the pain I’d experienced after Alenko’s death and the only one who reached out -- even if it was just a few words. You didn’t hate me finding out I am working with Cerberus, but instead joined me knowing full well that I could once again be leading both of us to death.

“With you, I for once in my life, feel safe. You’re the first person I’ve ever let see the brokenness and pain inside. Even if I haven’t told you everything, you’ve accepted that and never pushed me to try opening up. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but if you’d be willing, I want to explore us more.”

As she spoke, she felt the small crack in the walls around her heart begin to chisel away a bit more. Her heart longed to tell him the things left unspoken. That she desired to be with him. She wanted to tell him what her life had been like growing up. She wanted to tell him about what happened on Akuze in more detail, but that would all have to wait and depend on what he said.

He was silent for a long time, seeming to puzzle over what she’d told him, what she’d revealed. He closed his eyes briefly before fixing his piercing blue gaze on her, their eyes meeting.

“When you said we needed to talk, I’d prepared myself for the worst. I’d prepared for you to send me off the ship or tell me that all the awkwardness between us was in my head, that you didn’t care about me as something more than a friend.”

His mandibles flicked outward and he tilted his head just slightly in the smile of his that she had grown to understand. “But I’m glad to see that you feel the same way I do, I didn’t realize until now how much I care for you.”

She stepped forward a bit, wanting to take his hand, but hesitated. He seemed to notice and reached out, gently holding her small five-fingered hand in his larger three-fingered one. He shifted his grip so their hands rested comfortably together, fingers intertwining in a way that just felt _right_.

“Does that mean you’re willing to try--”

“Normally I wouldn’t consider cross-species intercourse -- that sounds dirty -- but with you, I’d be willing to try. And if it turns out to be awkward, then fighting the Collectors will be a welcome distraction,” he said.

She smiled and giggled a bit at that. “True,” she responded.

“Good, then I’ll do some research and figure out how this should work.”

She nodded and after a moment, let go of his hand, taking a contented deep breath. “Alright then I need to check on the others, I’ll leave you to your work.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m really in a good mindset to do calibrations right now.”

She smirked and shook her head as he opened the doors for her and watched her leave. Once the doors closed again, she took a deep breath, glad to finally have her feelings off her chest, and glad that he felt the same way. Then she headed off to speak to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo everyone! I wanted to let you know that I'm working on this fanfic while also trying to prepare to move for college. This last spring (May 2020) I graduated with my AAS, and now I will be going to a four year college to get my Bachelors of Fine Arts.
> 
> I also am planning on making another couple fanfictions with Amalia Shepard in them so be prepared if you'd like to see her more.


	6. Chapter 5

She felt shaken to her core. After helping Samara with Morinth...let’s just say she hadn’t expected the Ardat-Yakshi’s hold to be so intense. She had managed to see through it, but she had struggled, sensing a strange desire in her. A desire that frightened her.

  
She had never cared about being in a relationship with an Asari or anyone who looked or was female. She wasn’t into that. But Mornith’s abilities had almost forced her to not only die, but into something that she had never even wanted in the first place.

  
The only thing that kept her grounded during the entire encounter was thinking about Garrus. He hadn’t been too happy about hearing about the mission and what Samara’s daughter could do. Much less the fact that he hadn’t been asked to come along and that Amalia was being used as bait. The little fact that he’d cared so much about her that she could see the gears in his head trying to get her to stop this mission, even though he knew that she would do it out of a sense of obligation.

  
After the whole ordeal, having returned to the Normandy, she couldn’t bring herself to see him, to tell him she was alright. Because she wasn’t. The memories that almost being controlled by the insane Asari had brought upon her had sent her retreating to her cabin where she could hide away from everyone and everything...except for EDI.

  
_Rough hands gripping her, holding her down. Pain blossoming in her lower region as she cried out, only to have the sound stifled from the body above her._

She curled up in a ball on her bed.

  
_Fear radiated off her and she couldn’t fight back. She was too small, too weak._

  
_Then it was over, and her tormentor stepped away from her, leaving her penetrated and weak. She laid there silently as they left, almost too afraid to move or breathe. Blood poured out from her damaged body, mingling with the sweat clinging to her._

  
Her hands gripped her arms, feeling her nails dig into her flesh once more, but she did not pierce her skin.

  
_She reached across to where there was a broken bottle and picked up the piece. She would kill the next person who came in. She would break out. She would find her bastard of a brother and make him pay._

  
Once again, she was pulled from her memories as there was a knock on her door. She didn’t get to say anything before the door opened and she spotted the sight of an extremely worried Turian barreling his way through her room.

* * *

“Shepard,” he said as he spotted her, freezing at the haunted look in her eyes. He didn’t know what to say or to think at her appearance. He certainly hadn’t expected this. He could tell whatever had happened on the last mission had been rough for her.

  
She hadn’t come down from her room since she’d gotten out of the mission with Samara. He’d questioned the Justicar about it, but the Asari just told him that she wasn’t sure what was going on. He panicked, he knew the Justicar was brand new to the crew, so she wouldn’t know her like he did, and Shepard disappearing to her room right after a mission was not like her. But he had been shocked upon seeing her in the state he found her in.

  
He paused across the room, unsure how to proceed for a moment before he walked over. She said nothing, but watched him with violet eyes.

  
His mandibles pressed against his faceplate in concern as he sat down and he reached a hand out to touch her back in a reassuring manner, but then paused. He wasn’t sure how she would feel about his touch, so he dropped his hand, letting it fall on the bed between them.

  
“I’d ask if you were alright, but I know you well enough to see that you aren’t. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her gently.

  
She was silent for what was probably only a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to him. Then she looked at her knees. “I-I hadn’t expected the mission to be so...difficult. Garrus, I almost…” she trailed off and hugged herself.

  
This time he did it, he reached a hand out and gently touched her back. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing against his touch. “I was able to fight off Morinth’s control, but if Samara hadn’t come when she had, I might very well be dead right now, acting on a desire I didn't really have.”

  
His mandibles flicked outward a bit in shock and he took a moment before voicing the one thing that caught his attention. “Acting out a desire?”

  
She gave him a pained look. “Morinth was a monster. I knew that, but she had powers of seduction. I have no interest in females or those who look female in the slightest, so the fact that she could control me like that...almost force me into having-” she broke off at the last word, but he could tell very well what she meant.

  
She looked away again. “Anyway, it reminded me of things. Things from my past which seem to be haunting me more and more these days.”

  
He was silent, not sure if he should ask or not. He was curious what she meant, but he wouldn’t push her if she didn’t want to tell him.

  
“Do you want to talk about it?” he finally asked her.

  
After another moment of silence for which she seemed to be warring with herself to tell him, she uncurled her legs just a bit and then leaned against him. His mandibles flicked out a bit in surprise, but he didn’t move, he said nothing, even while he felt his heart speed up at the feeling of her sitting next to him like this.

  
She nodded against him. “You deserve to know,” she said. He watched as she looked at her hands which she was now ringing in her lap in a nervous gesture.

  
“You remember when we were going after Sidonis?” she started. He wondered where she was going with this, but he nodded. He could never forget that day. “I never have told anyone this before. But, like you, I was once betrayed.”

  
He blinked and watched her. She didn’t look up at him, as if afraid of what would happen if she did. She seemed to be struggling with this next part. She seemed small in that moment, and he knew that part of it was because she was about to reveal something intimate. Something so intimate from her past that she’d never had the courage to tell anyone.

  
He knew that this moment would be hard for her. She’d always had walls up, and speaking about someone who betrayed you was sometimes the hardest thing for some people. It showed that she trusted him more than she’d ever trusted anyone.

  
He gently reached his free hand out and took one of hers, helping give her an anchor, something to calm her and make her feel safe. She intertwined their fingers and took a deep breath before finally looking up to meet his gaze.

  
“You see, I was betrayed by my own brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo! So I'm going to be slowing down in posting a bit as I get further into this story. Partly so I can write more chapters, but also because I'm needing more time to figure out what to write while preparing for moving.
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:  
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	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard reveals the truth about the betrayal she experienced to Garrus

He stilled at her revelation, staring into her eyes. He didn’t know what to say. Inside, he could feel a burning sensation deep in him. An anger so intense that made him want to find her brother and snap his neck for making her hurt, for making her struggle so hard to open up and trust people.

But she wasn’t done.

After the revelation, she looked away from him and then began to tell her story. He listened in shock as she told him about how her brother had sold her into slavery. And while she was enslaved, some of the men took advantage of her sexually. Because of her small frame. Of her being a female. His hand squeezed hers tighter in anger as he continued to hear her tell her tale.

She told him of how after she’d been hurt and damaged, that she’d fought. She’d stabbed one of the slavers with some broken glass in the neck. How she’d freed herself from her chains and then began running, not stopping to help anyone, even though a part of her now looked back with regret for leaving others to suffer fates worse than hers.

He understood that she hadn’t been able to save them. She’d only been a little girl at that time.  _ Spirits _ . A little girl sold into slavery and forced to have something taken from her which she could never get back.

And then she’d found the Reds...or more like they’d found her. They had taken her in, taught her how to take care of herself but also watching her back. They never asked about her past and she’d never told any of them.

Then she told about how on one of her runs with the Reds she came across a family they were threatening so they could get money. How there was a little girl that reminded herself of her. And she’d snapped. She told them to stop, and managed to get them to do so, but only after a brawl. Then she was scolded and beaten by the Reds’ leader.

So she left and joined the Alliance. She told him about Akuze, how she’d arrived with her team. The mission had been going fine until Thresher Maws appeared and started attacking them. They’d run inside for cover, only to realize that one of their team was still out there. The group had left the buildings to try making a last stand, to try finding him...but only Shepard had survived, injured and almost near death.

He felt a deep sadness nestle in him and his one arm wrapped around Shepard protectively, even while she finished the conclusion of her story.

“You remember that man we found on Ontarom, Corporal Toombs?”

He paused a moment before nodding, remembering the incident and he frowned when he realized that Toombs had mentioned he’d been a survivor of the attack on Akuze. He didn’t understand why she brought the man up though.

“Well,” she looked down at their interlocked hands which were sitting on her lap. “The man he’d had his gun pointed at...was my brother.”

Garrus felt his heart stop and he couldn’t help but stare, his mouth opening to say something but nothing came out.

“When I saw him again, I...I wanted to kill him. I wanted to shake him so bad and yell in his face, ask him why the hell he abandoned me and sold me into slavery. But I knew he didn’t recognize me, I could see it in his eyes. He believed his baby sister had died back on earth, or perhaps she was still a slave to someone. And despite my hatred for what he’d done, I couldn’t...I couldn’t bring myself to kill him. Too much blood had been shed for his betrayal of me, too many people hurt. Not only that, but he is my only blood relative I have, the only one linking me back to my…” she trailed off, and he knew she’d been about to say “parents”.

“I also knew I had to set an example. Killing him would gain me nothing but the cold and empty feeling of repaying what he’d done to me and to Toombs. When we extracted them and brought them to the Citadel, I didn’t tell either of them. I kept tabs on my brother since then, making sure he didn’t cause any more trouble until…” Her words again hung in the air, but they both knew what she had been about to say.

_ Until I’d died _ .

He lightly stroked her hand with his thumb-like talon. “I understand why you wanted to tell me about the betrayal you went through, considering I’d gone through my own, but why? Why me, why now?” he asked almost in a whisper, afraid of her answer.

She looked up at him with a look on her face that seemed puzzled as to why he would even ask that. “Because why not? You’re my best friend, my closest friend. And my experience with Morinth made me come to the realization that you deserved to know. You deserved to know why I stopped you besides the fact that there was no reason to kill a man already dead. And…” she paused, “I don’t know what will happen with the Collectors. If we don’t survive, then someone needs to know the truth, someone needs to know what happened to me, even if none of us might make it out alive,” she said, her voice shaking just a tad and she looked down.

“Hey,” he let go of her hand and cupped her chin, gently tilted her face to look at him. “We’ll survive this. I know we will. If all else fails, you can beat them with your sheer stubbornness.”

She laughed lightly at that. “And you can make them back down with just your looks,” she said with a smile.

He chuckled softly at her response, their earlier conversation about beating the collectors after dealing with Sidonis flickering briefly to his mind. He couldn’t help but smile. He thought back to all they’d been through together, and he felt closer to her now than ever before, not just in the way he was holding her -- which neither of them was objecting to -- but also to their relationship. They both had admitted to wanting something more from each other.

He didn’t think either of them were ready just yet to take that plunge, and now knowing what she’d been through, he knew better than to rush anything. But for now, for now this would be enough. The two of them shifted positions to a more comfortable position on her bed, his one arm around her while the other held her hand and her head resting on his still armored chest. Part of him vaguely wondered what it would feel like for her skin to be on his as he looked down at her.

“Thank you, Garrus,” she said suddenly.

“What for?” he asked.

“For being here. And...for listening.”

He smiled. “Anytime Shepard.”

“Amalia.”

“What?” he gave her another look to see her watching him.

“My full name is Amalia Jane Shepard. When it’s just the two of us, you can call me Amalia,” she said.

“Oh…” he paused. “Amalia,” he said, trying out her name. It was pretty, and it sounded  _ right _ . He didn’t know how else to phrase it, but he liked her name.

He looked at her to see her smiling softly. Apparently, she liked hearing him say her name too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amalia has had a rough life, but at least she finally told Garrus some of what has happened to her. (Lowkey I loved the idea of her brother being that Cerberus scientist, made that scene in the game much more emotional than it was for a "Sole Survivor" Shepard.)
> 
> Also, I'm going to be moving on the 12th of August to a different town (and apartment) I have no idea when I'll have internet again, so after I move, it may be a while before I get to upload.
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:  
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frostbite711/  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/Frostbite7111  
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> TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/cxcCwN/  
> Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI0MMQy48NKLdo7eNfIPrng


	8. Chapter 7

After she’d told him of her past, of the deep dark secret she’d been keeping for most of her life, she felt a weight had lifted off her shoulder. Only to be replaced by another one. While both she and Garrus had talked about trying  _ sex _ , she knew that a part of her didn’t want this to become a one night thing. She wanted it to be more.

She didn’t know exactly how to tell Garrus, every time something had been brought up like this, it’d been mixed a bit with teasing, and neither of them had really spoken expressly how they felt except for wanting to try being something more than just friends.

They were currently preparing to go collect the Reaper IFF, and as she was strapping on her armor and checking her equipment, she couldn’t help but glance over at Garrus where he was watching her. Their gazes met and her heart began to race. He cocked his head and gave her one of his signature smiles, letting her know it would be alright.

She could tell he was just slightly disappointed if not a bit worried that she wasn’t bringing him along -- but she had a feeling they would be coming into contact with some pretty deadly enemies. She knew that Grunt would be good to just plow through any attackers, or he could shoot them, and Mordin she knew would be able to help with any injured if they found anyone alive.

She gave him a smile back before loading onto the ship that would take them to the Reaper. Upon reaching the ship, she took a deep breath before pulling out her guns and heading in with Grunt and Mordin following behind her.

Amalia sat on one of the tables in the medbay, her armor removed and her tank top that she wore underneath lifted up enough for Doctor Chackwas to bandage her side. During the fight at the room of the Reaper core, she’d managed to get injured -- nothing life threatening, but Mordin had applied some medigel quickly to the wound to prevent her from bleeding out before they reached the ship while Grunt had picked up an interesting Geth they’d found in the ship.

The geth hadn’t attacked them, and had actually helped them before it had been “knocked out” by husks. Their guest was currently sitting in the AI Core where Amalia was intending to go after she’d been bandaged up.

Of course while she was being bandaged up, the doors to the medbay opened and Garrus walked in, his gaze immediately latching onto her. Concern rippled through his gaze accompanied with relief that she’d returned mostly unharmed.

Chackwas noticed the Turian and gave him a light smile as she finished bandaging the Commanded before stepping away, allowing Garrus to approach. It took only a few steps and he was in front of Amalia. His mandibles flared out slightly in a smile and he bent down to nuzzle her lightly. “You’re okay,” he said matter-of-factly.

She smiled and reached a hand up and lightly stroked the side of his face that was scarred. He made a slight surprised sound before he closed his eyes and a slight purr rumbled out of him, enjoying the sensation of her fingers on his face plates— on his mandibles. While she knew the scarring was rougher than the rest of his face, she found the feeling of the scar entrancing, but after a moment, she removed her hand and leaned back from him.

Feeling her move away, he opened his eyes and met her violet gaze with his icy-blue. “It’ll take more than a handful of husks to take me down,” she said with a smirk.

Somehow that didn’t make him feel better and he frowned, his mandibles pulling tighter to his face. “You need to be more careful. You died once, I couldn’t bear to see you die again,” he said.

She sighed. “I know, I’m sorry I worried you,” she said. She then hopped off the table. “Anyway, I’m going to reactivate the Geth.” She turned toward the AI Core.

As she did so, he felt a slight jab of fear shoot through him. She was going to do  _ what _ ?!

He must’ve made a fearful noise because she stopped and turned back to him. Noticing his gaze, she reached out and took his hand. “Garrus, I’ll be fine. EDI and some guards are there to protect me,” she said.

“I don’t like this, Amalia,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’d feel better if I was there to watch it. You and I both know what they did when they were with Saren.”

She pursed her lip lightly. “Alright, fine, you can stand guard if it’ll help you feel less worried.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, part of her glad that he was willing to protect her from the Geth. She didn’t know what the Geth would do, but she knew well enough she couldn’t let her fear or apprehension show, they needed her to be strong.

Then she turned around and with a deep breath, stepped into the AI Core.

The geth was sitting on a ledge, deactivated with a soldier standing guard. “I’m going to reactivate the geth, EDI,” she announced.

The soldier near her prepped his gun at the geth, and with Garrus as a solid presence behind her with his own gun at ready, she began to reactivate the machine. EDI set up a sort of shield to help protect them from the geth in case it decided to attack once it was active again. Couldn’t be too safe.

It didn’t take long before the machine before them began to glow faintly and it turned, getting to its feet. The geth looked at her with its single eye, watching her quietly.

She conversed with it for a decent amount of time, learning about the geth and how it had taken an interest in her. Learning about “the heretics” who were the Geth who had chosen to follow Saren. Even though the conversation was slightly confusing due to the geth’s straightforward and logical attitude, she found it enlightening, and eventually they decided upon calling it “Legion” thanks to EDI.

Feeling satisfied with getting to know what the geth wanted, she turned to leave -- Garrus having left a few minutes ago seeing as she wasn’t in any immediate danger -- but Legion called out.

“Shepard-Commander, the heretics have created a virus that would modify all geth to accept their conclusions about the geth’s future and the Old Machines,” it said.

She stopped and turned to face Legion. “Wait, are you saying the Heretics want to make you believe the way they do?”

The plates on the side of its helm shifted outward just a tad. “Yes. We would request that you help stop this virus from being uploaded.”

“Alright...send me the coordinates and we’ll check it out,” she said.

The machine nodded and then seemed otherwise content to let her leave. She took one last look at Legion before she turned and exited the AI Core. A virus that would rewrite the geth to align with the Reapers would  _ not _ be good. The collectors and Reapers were hard enough as it was.

She ran a hand over her face. Who knew that there would be geth who wanted to force others to agree with them just as much as some organic beings? Biting the inside of her lip, she headed up to the CIC deck to look at the coordinates Legion had sent. Closing her eyes briefly, she told Joker to set a course for the geth ship.

…

They were there within a day and Amalia called Legion and Garrus down to join her for the mission. She could tell as they waited to dock with the ship, that Garrus seemed a little uncomfortable with the geth. Sure, she was too, but she didn’t let it show.

She cast a glance at Legion to see it standing quietly, not seeming to care how the two organics were taking its presence. The machine looked to her shortly before they docked. “Shepard-Commander, geth ships have no windows or oxygen as we do not need it.”

“Right, so the helmet stays on. Got it,” Garrus said.

She gave a nod and after some confirmation from Legion, she entered the ship with the geth and Garrus right behind her. As they stepped into the ship and began to walk through the hallways, Legion called out again. “Shepard-Commander. There has been a development. The virus that the Heretics were developing could be used to rewrite them instead of destroying them.”

She stopped moving and gave it a look. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“We did not know until stepping onto this ship that the virus was complete. It has not been uploaded yet, but this new information makes this mission much more paramount than before.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” she said with a sigh. “Alright, which do you suggest we do?”

“We are uncertain. It will take some time to come to a conclusion. We will let you know if we have made one,” it said.

“Fine. Let’s just get moving. The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can get back to preparing for the Omega 4 Relay.” She then started them back to walking through the ship, destroying geth and the hubs they were attached to when they came across them.

“Don’t remind me. That’s going to be one hell of a suicide mission,” Garrus remarked.

“And you say I never take you anywhere fun.”

“A place where we might all very well die is not what I consider fun,” he pointed out.

“After a while of going day to day without knowing if you’ll live to see the next morning makes you appreciate the moments when you go into some place fully aware that you might very well die,” she pointed out.

He went silent for a moment. “Guess I hadn’t thought of that.”

They travelled the rest of the way in silence until they passed by a room where Legion discovered that the Heretics had evolved and become so different from the other geth. This fact seemed to confuse it. If it had been an organic, Shepard would have thought it was afraid.

“How could we have changed so much?” it asked, looking at her.

“That’s what tends to happen to groups that separate. They evolve and once they come back together, they aren’t who they used to be,” she said. She couldn’t help but glance at Garrus out of the corner of her helmet -- remembering just how much he had changed compared to when she’d met him two years ago.

Legion said nothing more, but turned away and they continued their trek through the base, shooting down more hubs and any other geth they came across.

Eventually, they reached the console that Legion said would be where it would send a code that would either destroy or rewrite the heretics. While Legion was deleting the virus, some of the heretics came after them. Shepard settled herself in the middle of the room where she’d have the best vantage point and protection from either side while sending Legion and Garrus to each side of the room to keep an eye on any advancing heretics that she missed.

It wasn’t long before the heretics were defeated and Legion gave her the choice of the heretics’ fate, telling her that the consensus couldn’t decide on their own but she could do so based on her opposition to the heretics. She sat for a moment, weighing her options. Either decision didn’t sit right with her, but in the end she decided to have Legion rewrite the heretics.

With the decision made, Legion then informed her that they had 180 seconds to get off the ship before it would self-destruct.

“Oh, now you tell us!” Garrus snapped as the three of them began to race their way off the ship and toward the  _ Normandy _ , shooting down any geth that came to try stopping them.

Amalia could feel the prickling pain in her side that she knew accompanied a wound opening up as they just managed to make it to their ship. “Shit,” she gasped out under her breath, her hands reaching up to fumble with her armor to try pulling it off. She didn’t want to warn anyone, but she knew she had to get the armor off so she could assess the damage -- even if they were still in the decontamination chamber.

“Shepard-Commander, you are injured,” Legion said, causing Garrus to stop what he was doing and glance over at her.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it Legion,” she breathed out, grunting as she finally managed to remove her breast plate. She glanced down and grimaced at the sight of her blood starting to seep through her white shirt.

Before she could do anything more, Garrus was suddenly at her side, wrapping one of her arms around his neck before scooping her up bridal style. “Garrus!” she said in both surprise and a bit of annoyance. While she didn’t mind being lifted up like this, she didn’t know if she wanted everyone else to see the resident Turian carrying her around.

“Shut up, Shepard. I’m taking you to the medbay and you aren’t going to argue.”

“I…” she was at a loss for words. Garrus rarely took on an authoritative voice with her -- he’d never really had to do it before -- but she’d be lying if she didn’t find it a bit sexy. So instead of saying anything, she clamped her mouth shut, pursed her lips, and allowed the male to carry her. Instead, she decided to focus on the injury on her side, doing her best to calm herself like she’d been taught to do in order to lower the amount of blood leaking out.

Calming herself proved to be a tad bit more difficult when her mind started to suddenly focus on all the parts where Garrus’s armor touched her skin. Oh how a part of her wished he wasn’t wearing his armor. The pain in her side worsened as Garrus glanced down at her in concern.

The edges of her vision began to blur and the sounds around her began to become muffled. She tried to stay conscious, to grasp onto what was being said and done around her, but to no avail. The last she remembered was Garrus’s face and his voice sounding so far away as the edges of her vision started to blur as he said “Stay with me, Shepard.  _ Please _ ,” before everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up guys! So it's been a while since I've updated this story, mostly because my focus shifted and I was struggling to write for this story accompanied with college and work starting up. It's been one crazy last week with COVID and classes being shifted and cancelled, my roommate moving in, and making sure I have my classes all set for this upcoming semester.
> 
> Things are still bound to be a little crazy so I can't guarantee how frequently I will be posting, but I'll be doing my best to update this and most of my other stories on here when I have the ideas to do so.
> 
> If you couldn't tell by now, we're getting nearer and nearer to the end of Act 1. I'm still in the writing process for Act 1 but after this chapter there are at least 2-3 more chapters putting Act 1 at about 10 chapters (11 if you include the prologue). I might actually make a prologue for Act 2. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see and Act 2 Prologue (I'll probably do it regardless, but I'd like to see your thoughts on it)
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:  
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frostbite711/  
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	9. Chapter 8

He couldn’t lose her. Not again. He wouldn’t be able to survive in a world without her. He managed to get her to the medbay while she was on the edge of consciousness. As soon as he burst into the doors with her in his arms, Chakwas looked up from what she was doing to immediately stand and direct Garrus to where he could put Shepard. Once she was laying down on the bed, the doctor set to work on patching up her wound, not caring that Garrus was still in the room, pacing.

He made sure to keep out of the doctor’s way while she worked as he flexed his talons. Why did she have to go out into the field when she was so injured? Why did she feel the need to risk her life this way? Of course, he knew the answers to his questions. She was a good person and she wanted to help as many people as she could. She was also extremely stubborn once she’d put her mind to something.

He sighed and continued to pace. He wished there was something he could do besides just pace and worry.

It took several hours before the doc had finished patching her up. During this time, he’d stopped pacing and was now just sitting by the bed, watching over her. Legion had walked into the room on its way to the AI Core, having stopped to observe Garrus and Shepard. It had offered no consultation -- not that Garrus had expected it too -- but it did remark that “Shepard-Commander’s odds of surviving were 87.86%” due to both its observations and Garrus’s quick reaction. It was comforting in a way, but not in the way that Garrus needed.

Garrus knew she would be alright, but he still worried. He’d already lost her once, and that was before they’d both admitted to liking each other. If he’d lost her now...he would lose himself as well and he might never return.

He sat next to her with his head bowed, elbows resting on his knees while his hands gripped each other. He recalled back to the time after she’d died. He hadn’t been there when the original _Normandy_ had been destroyed -- he’d gone to C-Sec to try getting justice while working with their regulations.

After he’d heard about her death, he’d been devastated. If he’d been there, perhaps she wouldn’t have died. Perhaps he could’ve gotten her to safety. But instead, he’d been trying to deal with people on the Citadel while being trapped by red tape.

Her funeral had been a somber event. While her death wasn’t public knowledge, her crew, some of the Alliance brass, and the Council had attended. The crew of the _Normandy_ were the only ones who seemed to know her more intimately, but even then it seemed cold and stiff. While Shepard had gone through great lengths to get to know her crew, to make them feel comfortable -- regardless of race and status -- she’d never really told anyone anything about herself. She’d always kept on her “Commander” mask.

Accept for when she thought no one was watching. He’d managed to catch her on multiple occasions, the most obvious one after Virmire. That had been the only time he’d mentioned it to her. He didn’t think she would appreciate him bringing up her mask breaking so he hadn’t brought it up.

All those who spoke had spoken of her as a hero, someone to aspire to. They all spoke of her as “The Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel”, putting her on a pedestal that she both didn’t and didn’t deserve. But Garrus had known that she wasn’t perfect. After her funeral, she was being broadcasted everywhere and he hated it. And to make matters worse, the Council had dismissed the Reapers’ existence as heresy saying that Saren had been the real threat.

Garrus couldn’t stand to be in a place that would downplay and sweep all of Shepard’s achievements and the crew’s struggles so easily. She’d given her life for them after all, and they spat on her legacy. So he’d left. He’d wandered around a bit, trying to figure out where to go, before he eventually wound up on Omega.

He closed his eyes, his fingers tightening on each other for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and gently reached for one of her hands, grabbing it in his and bringing it to his mouth plates. He gently brushed her knuckles against them, his gaze watching her peaceful looking face.

“Come back to me, Shepard,” he said softly.

* * *

 _She was weightless, floating away from the wreckage of the original_ Normandy. _She watched with a sort of satisfaction that her crew had gotten away. That they would be safe and that was enough for her. She would be content to watch them fade from view as she slowly floated. Perhaps they would be able to bring another ship to come get her._

_But then her hopes were dashed by something piercing the cables in the back of her suit that provided her with oxygen. She gasped for air and began to scramble with fingers that were starting to lose all feeling to try to reattach them._

_It was all in vain. The cables were cut cleanly with no chance to be repaired without machinery that used to be on the ship. Regardless, she continued to scramble, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. She didn’t want to die._

_She didn’t want to leave the living world with so many things unsaid and with the threat of the Reapers still out there. Even though Sovereign had been destroyed, something in her had told her that it’s death was not the end._

_In her final moments, the faces of her friends flashed in her mind. The last one being of Garrus. He’d left after Wrex at the same time Tali and Liara had, but the “good bye” she’d given him didn’t match up to how she’d felt. She’d been expecting to see him again once she’d returned from hunting down the Geth. But now that wouldn’t be possible. She’d wanted to thank him for what he’d said to her after Virmire and all the times he’d asked her how she was holding up when it was just the two of them._

_It was then that she’d realized how she’d felt about Garrus. He’d been the only one who had noticed her mask slipping and instead of making her feel like she had to keep it up, he told her it was okay to have moments of weakness. His presence allowed her to be more than just “Commander Shepard”. As tears streamed down her cheeks in her final moments, she’d wished she would’ve been able to see Garrus one last time…_

_“_ Come back to me, Shepard” _The words suddenly echoed in her mind. Words belonged to a voice, to a person, she suddenly realized she loved more than she’d loved anyone. The voice of her snarky, talented and sexy best friend._

_She opened her mouth to tell him she would come back, even though she knew her time was up. But nothing came out as her lungs finally gave up their struggle and her vision went black as she slipped from consciousness._

She awoke with a gasp as if trying to struggle for air. Her hands jolting around in panic until she heard a grunt and her mind caught up with her surroundings. She realized she was in the new _Normandy_ ’s Medbay and besides the medical table she was on was Garrus. He was scratching at his mandible where it seemed she’d probably slapped him in her panic.

“Garrus,” she breathed out softly, attempting to sit up. But the pain in her side pricked her enough that she laid back down. “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” she said, feeling her face heat up with shame.

He shook his head. “It’s alright Shepard. I’m just glad you made it. You had me worried that you wouldn’t come back to me,” he said. She looked into his eyes and saw the pain in them at his words and it struck her how he must’ve felt having almost lost her a second time.

“It would take something much more severe than a wound to separate me from you. After all,” she paused and gave him a smile, reaching out to lightly touch his scarred mandible. “There is no Shepard without Vakarian.”

He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. She smiled a bit more as she felt him seem to purr under her touch. “And there is no Vakarian without Shepard,” he said, opening his eyes and fixing them on her face.

Not for the first time she found herself drawn into those piercing blue eyes. And she didn’t care how close they were right now, she had the sudden urge to kiss him. Her gaze darted to his mouth plates and then back to his eyes.

She noticed the same longing in his gaze that she felt and she barely noticed him starting to close the distance before the doors to the medbay opened. Garrus sprang away and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment at the interruption.

“Ah, Commander, you’re awake. The rest of the crew will be happy to hear. Let me see how well those wounds are doing,” Doctor Chakwas said.

Reluctantly, Garrus seemed to move away, giving the doctor and Shepard some space.

She cast him a meaningful glance. She wanted to speak with him later after Chakwas was sure she was doing fine. “Commander, next time please be more careful. Although you’d used medigel, the stitches weren’t completely closed yet.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best, doctor,” she said with a nod. She really did feel bad, but she couldn’t really do much about it. Until the Collectors had been dealt with, she didn’t have a choice or have the time to let the wound heal. She glanced at Garrus, noting the look he gave her that meant he could read what she was thinking.

She pursed her lips and looked away. If it were up to him, she knew he would strap her down if he knew it would get her to stop pushing herself. It wouldn’t, but it was the thought that counted, and it was part of why she liked him -- he was always trying to look out for her well-being, even when she was too stubborn to let him.

With Chackwas satisfied with her work, Amalia was released from the Medbay with Garrus just a step behind her. “You need to be more careful, Shepard,” he said softly. “I already lost you once, I don’t want to risk losing you again.”

That simple confession and reminder of her death tugged on her heart and she stopped, fixing her violet eyes on his blue ones. She reached a hand up and gently stroked his scarred mandible. “You won’t lose me. At least not without a fight. I can’t guarantee any of us will survive the suicide mission, but if you promise to make it out alive, I will do the same,” she said.

His mandibles fluttered softly and he nodded. “I can do that,” he said, leaning forward and pressing his forehead gently against hers for a moment. She closed her eyes as he did so, savoring this moment that was just them.

And then that moment ended when EDI spoke up. “Commander, the Reaper IFF has been successfully installed. It will need to be tested before we can use it on the Omega 4 Relay. I suggest taking the shuttle for your next mission.”

She sighed. Duty calls. “Alright, I’ll be up there in a minute EDI.” She pulled away from Garrus reluctantly. “To be continued,” she told him.

He gave her one of his smiles and nodded. “Definitely,” he said and he backed away so she could get up and head to the CIC. As she was doing so, Miranda’s voice called out. “I’ll get everyone to the Hammerhead and you can pick who you’ll take with you then.”

Shepard nodded, allowing Amalia to fall away and returning to her Commander persona. She walked up to the CIC and looked at the galaxy map and what missions they had to do next. She lightly rested a hand to where her side was still healing as she made her decision.

Spinning on her heel, the Commander went to the armory and began to suit up before heading to the Hammerhead where the others were waiting. “Alright everyone, let’s get going,” she said before she led the way inside.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up guys! So as I've been writing, I've decided there will be a few more chapters than what I said previous chapter, but only because I decided to add some more flavor. I'll probably be posting the newest update soon as I and posting it as I managed to slide it in between this chapter and the chapter that would have originally been 9.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed getting to see more of Amalia's past and the development of hers and Garrus's past!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:
> 
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	10. Chapter 9

The group touched down on Aite where the Illusive Man said that something called “Project Overlord” needed to be investigated after the scientists at the facility had stopped reporting in. As they landed, Amalia chose Garrus and Tali to help her. The others nodded and stayed aboard the Hammerhead.

Walking toward the entrance to the base, she heard a male voice crackle over her coms. The man on the other end said his name was Archer and that he needed help. As they stepped inside she paused, looking at all the dead bodies strewn here and there.

She looked down at the bodies and wondered what could have done this. She honestly at this point wasn’t surprised to come to a Cerberus facility and see chaos and dead bodies considering all the shady things they’d done before. The three of them approached the console Archer indicated and he explained to them that a VI went rogue and started killing everyone.

She sighed, because of course it did. This was not the first time she’d had to deal with a rogue VI, but this was the first time she’d seen this much destruction. As she, Garrus and Tali stepped through the base, they suddenly encountered Geth. Because of course there were geth, although something about them wasn’t like usual geth, the way the moved seemed...off.

“I get the feeling that the VI hacked into the geth,” Shepard said.

“If a VI could do that, then it must be pretty powerful,” Tali remarked.

Shepard nodded and as they walked into a room overlooking the satellite which was suddenly being moved, coming to life, Shepard heard a mechanical screaming coming from the computers. “Quiet. Please, make it stop!” the voice screeched, cybernetic tones thick in the voice.

“Did you hear that?” Shepard asked, darting an unsettled look at Tali and Garrus as a shiver ran up her spine.

“I heard mechanical screaming if that’s what you mean,” Garrus said, watching her closely as Shepard seemed to become more spooked.

“It was a voice. It screamed for help, to…’make it stop’,” she said in a whisper.

Tali and Garrus shared a look before shaking their heads. “Sorry, Shepard, we didn’t hear it,” Tali said.

Shepard pursed her lips and wrapped her hands around her gun, looking at the glowing eyes of the VI. “Let’s get moving,” she said, trying to stop her shaking as they passed by another screen and it once again screeched the same thing. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, but she knew that that voice would become yet another thing to haunt her nightmares.

They continued through the base, destroying any geth that got in their way to destroy the satellite dish at Archer’s behest. As it came crumbling down around them, they raced back the way they came while it threatened to send them plummeting to their deaths. The group leaped and landed safely on the railing where it was safe just before the entire satellite dish collapsed.

Archer then came running up to them. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll explain the situation,” he said before he led them to an office room. He turned to Shepard and while Tali and Garrus collected dead bodies and catalogued them, he explained what they were trying to do. “We were lucky you came when you did, otherwise the VI would’ve been able to upload to the extranet and infect everything.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good. Hooking up with the geth obviously didn’t work in your favor.”

“We can’t be expected to plan for every outcome. Regardless,” he said, walking over to a console and grabbing a handle, twisting and pulling up a lock, “you will need to shut it down in Atlas Station as that’s where our VI experiments were held. Atlas station is locked and only the other stations can grant you access. I’m the only one left at any of our bases so you will have to go to Vulcan and Prometheus Stations and manually unlock.”

She sighed. “Alright, we’ll head out. Might as well prevent this VI from causing more problems.”

Archer nodded and let her leave. She glanced back once before she climbed into the Hammerhead and explained the situation while the Legion took controls and drove them to Vulcan Station.

More screaming. Everytime one of the mechs was taken over, the screaming returned. It was a bit more unintelligible than earlier, as if the VI was struggling to communicate. They battled their way through the base, shooting down the mechs until they came to the control room.

They spotted one of the mechs kicking the console they needed to get at and they shot at it. The mech lost both of its arms before the glowing green of the VI left it, leaving the mech to look at them before wandering off.

Shepard walked over to the console and triggered the unlock. The computer screen in front of her suddenly sprang to life, the VI screaming at her. She jumped back, her gun pointing at the VI before she lowered it. She hated this place.

She glanced to her side at the mech who had wandered right next to her. She was about to shoot it herself before a bullet hit it right in the head, making it pop off with sparks flying. She looked behind her to see Garrus checking his gun before giving her a nod.

Then the three of them turned around and headed back to the Hammerhead to head to the Prometheus station.

Of course it was a downed geth ship. Archer had told her as such, but that didn’t make her feel any better. Especially when said ship was strangely quiet with only the cameras following them.

“Anyone else get the feeling that this is a trap?” Shepard asked.

“It’s making me nervous,” Tali replied.

“Yeah, definitely a trap,” Garrus said, pointing his gun down one of the empty corridors.

There were a few geth here and there, but they all appeared inactive. There were human bodies strewn throughout as they came nearer and nearer to their destination.

Once they reached the control room and she initiated the next pin to unlock, the VI screamed again and there was the sound of something powering up.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Garrus commented as they left the room and geth started to appear, glowing green.

“You think?!” she shouted as they ducked into cover and began returning fire.

It took a while before they escaped the base, having to fight geth on the way. Amalia was scowling as she got into the Hammerhead. “So many lives dead and a rogue VI screaming and taking over the place. This isn’t worth it.”

No one said anything in reply, but looked at the scowling Commander as they headed to the Atlas Station.

She again took Tali and Garrus with her as they entered the station. They walked into a room where an elevator sat. She walked over to push the door, and realized it didn’t move far, and after a few unsuccessful tries of getting it to their floor: floor 7, the group spread out to find a way to get the elevator to them. It took a few minutes of tinkering before it reached them, and the doors opened to reveal some geth.

They dove for cover and began firing at the machines until they were down before entering the elevator themselves. The machine had barely started to descend when it started to screech and rock. “Brace yourselves!” Shepard shouted, gripping onto the side of the elevator before it crashed onto the bottom floor.

She shook her head at the impact, a little wobbly and the wound at her side sparked slightly, but otherwise she was fine. She looked around and was glad to see Tali and Garrus still intact. She unholstered her gun and then headed through the door, stepping out into the hall. She looked both ways before spotting a door she assumed was the right one which she headed toward.

Entering the room, she approached the console, Tali and Garrus right behind her. As she reached out to touch the console before her, suddenly her vision was shot with light. She blinked and stumbled back, letting out a cry of surprise as her surroundings began to turn yellow and green, coding popping up in the walls. She stumbled out of the room, not noticing the door closing behind her, locking Tali and Garrus in the room as she began to shoot at the glowing geth she spotted.

Continuing on the paths opening to her, she came to discover the truth behind Project Overlord. That Archer’s younger brother David hadn’t really volunteered but had been forced into this situation.

When the virtual reality faded, she came face to face with yet another victim of Cerberus’s cruel experiments. She felt tears slip down her face. This could easily have been her if situations with her and her brother had been different. Her heart cried out to the tortured soul before her and she took a step toward David to free him from the hell he’d been forced into. Just before she could move very far, Archer came rushing down the hall from one end while Tali and Garrus from the other.

“Wait! Commander! I’m begging you, please don’t do anything rash.”

She rounded on him, fury in her gaze, tears in her eyes. “You told me he volunteered!”

“By necessity. If I’d told you from the start you would’ve shut me down and not him. It’s not like I planned this. It was an accident. Seeing David communicate with the geth...it all seemed harmless.”

She crossed her arms. “And before you knew it you were running your own hell,” she growled, doing her best to keep her anger under control. Normally she didn’t let her anger control her, but this...this was disgusting. He was using his younger brother -- experimenting on him just like her brother had done to her.

“I had no choice. The demands were incredible. The Illusive Man doesn’t broker failure! Any war we fight with the geth will be bloody. I was asked to find a way to avoid that.”

“Bullshit! Who gave you the right to play god?” she demanded, pointing a finger at him angrily.

Garrus at this point, came around and placed an arm on her shoulder reassuringly, having noticed her getting wound up and knowing it was because of her past. She relaxed just slightly at his touch, but was still fuming.

“People who were too afraid to make difficult decisions themselves. When they pray for a miracle, they’re really praying for men like me to make tough choices. If my work spares a million mothers mourning the loss of a million sons, my conscience will rest easy.”

She curled her lip at him. He disgusted her. “Look at him,” she said, waving a hand at David. “He will _never_ be the same.”

“The damage may not be permanent. He might recover some semblance of his mind.”

“That’s just it, he should never have had to go through this! You’re his older brother. Your job is to protect him, not torture him and use him like some lab rat. You disgust me!” she shouted, finally reaching her breaking point with this man. She shrugged Garrus away as she lashed out and punched him in the face, her body seeming to move faster than was humanly capable. “I’m taking your brother away from you, and if you so try to stop me, I’ll put a bullet right in between your eyes,” she hissed.

Archer froze, staring up at her. He looked like he was going to argue, but something in her eyes seemed to frighten him. “Fine!” he said before he backed away and left her alone.

“Amalia...that was…” Garrus trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Cruel? I don’t care. I don’t want to see anyone ever go through what I did.”

“I was going to say unlike you, but I do understand. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. We’ll do what we can for David.”

“Wait, what happened to Shepard?” Tali questioned.

Amalia waved her hand. “A story for another time,” she said as she walked over to some consoles, beginning to work on the process of removing David from the bonds. That’s when their comms crackled and Joker’s voice came in.

_[Shepard, we have a situation…]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! So this is the chapter I mentioned last update that is based in a DLC that I added in order to bring more life to Amalia and perhaps get some more narrative for her. I watched this DLC on YouTube and let me tell you, hearing David screech "Quiet, make it stop" the first two times was absolutely terrifying. I seriously regretted watching it at night as I was spooked until I went to bed.
> 
> To be honest, I've never played this DLC, but I heard more about it from "Twin Fates" (it's on Ao3, look it up, it's very good) and decided to watch a play through of the DLC. Then I used that play through for the cutscenes and a few of the fighting scenes to figure out how Amalia would react.
> 
> Well, I hope you liked this chapter. Be looking forward to the next one as we get nearer and nearer to the end of Act 1!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:
> 
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	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: The following Chapter has Sexual Content. Reader discretion is advised.

As the news about the crew came in and she and the others raced back to the  _ Normandy _ , Shepard felt a cold stone of dread settle in her. She felt weak and wanted to collapse. The only reason she didn’t was because the others were around, and she wouldn’t let her “Commander” mask drop in front of them; even when all she wanted to do was scream to whatever divine being was up there who was no doubt laughing at her.

So instead she gritted her teeth and did her best to keep herself together. Luckily for her, Garrus right next to her, watching her with his icy blue eyes as if he knew what was going through her head. Without saying a word, he reached out and wrapped his taloned hand around hers, giving it a squeeze. She smiled back and held his gaze, drawing strength from him.

Once they docked inside, she took the lead, heading to the CIC where she knew Joker would be. She felt a cold anger within her as she looked around at the empty - or well, mostly empty - ship. While in the Elevator, she told EDI to have Joker meet them in the comm room where she could discuss the newest problem they had.

As soon as the elevator opened, she stormed into the comm room and crossed her arms, not caring who else followed her. Which was Miranda, Jacob, Mordin, and to her relief, Garrus. She leaned against the railing behind her, crossing her arms as she listened to the conversation, Garrus silently giving her support as he stood by her side. She would have to remember to thank him after this.

The air was thick with tension and Miranda started going off, blue biotics beginning to swirl. Shepard sighed and stepped forward. “Enough. Fighting over what happened isn’t going to change anything. Joker did and EDI did what they could to save the crew.”

She paused and looked over those assembled. “We know what we have to do now. We have to bring the fight to them,” she said, curling her hand into a fist and smacking it into the ledge before her. “We knew this was going to be a suicide mission when we all signed on, they all did. We can’t always predict what’s going to happen, all we can do is decide how we will react to this and face both this threat and challenge. I promise you all I will do whatever is in my power to stop these collectors and bring our crew back. I won’t let the Collectors hurt any more people.”

She looked at the AI in the room. “Is the Reaper IFF functioning?” she asked.

“Affirmative Commander.”

She nodded. “Then Joker, get to the helm and set coordinates for the Omega 4 Relay. It’s time to save our crew and stop the Collectors once and for all.”

“Aye, Aye, Commander,” he said with a slight salute before he turned and exited the room, limping with each step.

Then she turned to Miranda and Jacob. “Make sure the team is ready. It’s going to be a few hours before we get to the Relay, and I want to make sure everyone is prepared. Mordin, check over all of our upgrades with EDI. It’s going to be a tough fight and I don’t want to be spaced again if I can help it,” she said. “Dismissed.”

The group nodded and left the room, heading off in their different directions to do her orders. Garrus, not having been told what to do, looked at her but said nothing as he gave her a curious look.

She sighed and lowered her head, gripping onto the ledge before her. “Garrus, I’m scared,” she admitted.

He reached out and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

“I know this upcoming mission is going to be dangerous. I...I don’t want to lose anyone. Not again,” she said softly. “I’ve lost so many people. My parents, my team, Kaidan, those human colonists…” she trailed off.

“Hey, Amalia, look at me,” he said softly and she did.

“We’ve both lost people. What’s important is that we keep moving on, keep pushing forward -- for their sakes. If we let fear and doubt creep in, then the Collectors and the Reapers win.”

She took a deep breath and let it out before smiling just a tad. “When did you get so good at pep talks.”

He grinned. “I had the best teacher,” he said. “Come on, I think I know something that will help you ease your mind, at least for the next few hours.” He gently took her hand in his, leading her out of the room and towards the elevator where he pushed the button to head to her cabin.

She tipped her head to the side. “I like how you think, Vakarian.”

He let out a bark of laughter at that and smiled. “You and I have lost so much. Whatever happens, I want this to work out. I want to be with you, at least for now.”

She nodded. “I do as well, Garrus.”

His mandibles lightly flicked outward and he reached out, gently touching the side of her face as she’d done to him before. His eyes searched hers carefully as he brushed his forehead against her own. She smiled back at him before pulling away as the door to the elevator opened and she guided him to her room.

Once inside, she turned to him, noting how now that he was in this room with her alone, he seemed to be nervous. It was odd, seeing that look on him when he’d been in here many times before.

“No need to be nervous, Garrus, I’m right here,” she said, reaching out and intertwining their fingers.

He let out a breathy, nervous laugh. “That’s what I’m nervous about.” He paused. “Are you sure you want to do this? I know we’ve been talking about it for a while now, but I don’t want to force you into-”

Before he could finish, she leaned up and lightly kissed his lips. “Stop worrying so much, Garrus. I want this, and I want it to be with you,” she said.

“If you’re sure…”

She fixed him a hard look, her violet gaze serious. “I’m sure. Now stop talking and let’s do this,” she said.

He opened his mouth to reply but then shut it. She then began to remove her armor which she hadn’t bothered to do so with all the craziness of the crew being taken. He, likewise, began to do the same. She then reached to the top of the under armor she sometimes wore -- which was form fitting and hugged all her curves snuggly, emphasising her breast more than anything. She’d always thought it was slightly ridiculous and unnecessary to draw that much attention to her breasts, but it provided protection and didn’t require her to wear a bra, even though she almost always did.

She noticed all the clasps that were staggered throughout his clothing and she stared. “That’s a lot of clasps,” she said aloud.

He gave her a look before chuckling. “And your under-armor isn’t complicated?”

“No, it’s just a zipper,” she said, reaching up and grabbing at the small metallic thing before she began to slide it down. The zipper went all the way down to her hips where she began to shimmy it off of her slender frame, tossing it to the side. She sighed slightly in relief at the feeling of the cool air of her cabin on her skin.

Unlike some people, she’d always found the cold to be more comforting than the heat. Having grown up on the streets of earth with no shelter, and then being on Akuze, she was more accustomed to chill than she was to warmth -- not that she didn’t appreciate the latter from time to time.

She glanced up at him and noticed he’d been watching her, his eyes roving over her body which was covered in a bra and underwear only, as well as the bandage across her side. “Do you like what you see?” she asked, noticing his gaze stick at her hips, giving him a slight smirk and placing her hands on her hips, a playful glint in her eyes.

He cleared his throat. “Uh...yeah. Your waist is very supportive,” he stumbled out.

“Never gotten that compliment before, but I like it,” she smiled. It was an odd comment for a human male, but she reminded herself, Garrus wasn’t human. “Are you going to stand there all day staring? Or are you going to get out of that,” she said, nodding toward his clothing.

“Oh! Right,” he mumbled, snapping out of his stare before he returned to removing his clothes.

Once he was done, she realized he was naked before her. His silver plates shimmered lightly in the dim lighting of her cabin. She stepped towards him and gently placed a hand on his carapace, lightly running her hands along the plates. They had a slightly rough yet smooth feeling to them and she couldn’t help but admire how the plates covered most of his body.

Her hands slowly moved down his torso to grip near his hips as she tilted her head up, noticing his icy-blue eyes staring intently down at her. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

Hesitantly, he kissed back, moving one hand to grip her around the waist while the other moved to her hair which she’d pulled into a short ponytail. She didn’t realize she’d still had it up until he tugged the band out of her hair and tossed it before lightly running his hands through her hair.

She closed her eyes and pressed her body closer to his, gently moving her mouth open to allow his tongue to find purchase. He seemed a bit surprised for a moment, his grip in her hair tightening before he inserted his longer tongue into her mouth, running it over hers. He began to guide her to the bed. Her legs hit the side of it and pulling away from their kiss, she moved to lay down on the bed on her back.

She let out a light grunt as a light pinch of pain shot through her side -- but not enough to cause her wound to open up.

He took a moment to look down her body before climbing over her and kissing her softly, moving one of his hands to remove her undergarments while his other gently began to caress the smooth skin on her legs.

“Spirits, Amalia, you’re so soft,” he said, pulling away from her and then trailing kisses down her neck.

She tilted her head away from his to give him more room to kiss as she let out a small moan.

“And you’re so responsive,” he remarked, finally managing to get her bra off. He tossed it to the side and with one hand, lightly gripped one of her breasts.

Her breathing became ragged as he ran his thumb over the nub while his other hand continued the circles which began to move toward the top of her panties. It took him but a moment before he reached a talon under the fabric and yanked it off her, revealing her womanhood. His circles then shifted to the insides of her hips and as they reached closer and closer to her center, she felt a knot begin to form in her lower stomach.

He stopped kissing her neck and looked at her face, watching her expression as he moved the hand gripping her breast down towards his other hand. He lightly ran a finger over the small bundle of nerves and she moaned and her back arched. His eyes gleamed as he picked up on her response as a good one and he continued rubbing, watching as she began to writhe on the bed before him.

“Garrus,  _ please, _ ” she begged him, breathless, noticing how his full length was out of the sheath it had been in before. She wanted him inside her  _ right now _ .

He let out a soft chuckle, rubbing a bit more before he shifted himself and carefully, gently, inserted himself inside her. She let out a light gasp and he paused, watching her expressions carefully until she gave him the go ahead.

Slowly, he began to thrust into her, stretching his upper body as he kissed her, their tongues fighting for dominance. He used his hands to grip her thighs, placing them on his hip spurs as he continued to thrust, picking up the pace. One hand continued to grip her hip while his other moved to tangle into her soft hair.

She moaned into his mouth, her hands moving up to stroke his crest, his scar, and even his fringe. He let out a sound of pleasure at her touch as the two of them continued in their love making.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we got to the romance scene! My lovely fellow Shakarian shippers were probably waiting for this moment.
> 
> If you were expecting something more in-depth for the scene, I won't lie to you and say that I will do so in the future. While I love to read steamy fanfictions, I'm not really into writing it that much -- even this had me questioning if I should write this much detail even while I simultaneously longed for more. Perhaps in later chapters I will gloss over or go into more depth, only time will tell.  
> Although it probably won't as I want this fanfic to be more about the relational development of Amalia and Garrus rather than being about their sexual life.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to give me kudos, bookmarks or comments. I'd love to see your guys thoughts on this and what you think will happen in the future. (of course I will be keeping with the GENERAL story line of ME, but I will be changing some things here and there to make sure this story stays my own.)
> 
> Also a quick update: I'm moving, yet again. This time from my dorm to an on-campus apartment. Thank the lord that the apartment is literally on the same block as my dorm, so I can just walk over. This may put a dampener on my posting as I will have to pack whatever I pulled out of boxes back up so I can haul to the apartment as well make sure I have my furniture (which my parents are bringing up) where I want it to be.
> 
> If you guys want to contact me, you can find me at:  
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> 
> ~* Stay Frosty! *~


	12. Chapter 11

Chackwas would have been very disappointed in Shepard for what she was about to do. She was still injured, but she had to rescue the crew and stop the Collectors. Then again, Chackwas wasn’t here. She was inside the very same place they were about to storm into.

She’d just met up with the team and together devised a strategy for getting into the Collector base. Miranda would be leading the other squad while Legion would disable the locks and Shepard provided back up for the geth.

It would be tough, and the looks Garrus kept casting her weren’t helping. She had decided to have him go with Miranda. She supposed he was worried about her and while it was sweet in his concern, she’d made her decision.

The team suited up into their armor and grabbed their weapons before they headed out. She gave a salute to the other team before heading inside, Mordin and Jacob behind her. They raced through the ship while being cautious, shooting at any collectors who dare show their faces, all the while providing backup for Legion as he crawled through the ventilation shafts.

Then they came to a closed door. “Legion, get this door open!” Shepard shouted as collectors started to close in on them, too many for them to hold off for long.

“Affirmative Shepard-Commander,” the synthetic responded in her coms.

The doors behind her suddenly opened and she ushered the others inside while Miranda and the rest of the team shot down the Collectors that attempted to shoot at them. Once she was through, Legion closed the door again.

She gave a slight sigh of relief and looked at the group, glad to see them all alive so far.

That’s when her gaze caught on the pods she’d remembered seeing on Horizon and even when they were ambushed on this very same ship. Apprehension filled her as she approached the pods, noticing the Normandy crew inside some of them as well as Horizon colonists. As she stopped in front of one of the pods and looked inside at the colonist who opened her eyes, looking at her. Suddenly, the colonist’s eyes widened and she looked around in her pod before scrambling and pounding at the pod.

Shepard’s eyes widened and she started struggling with the pod right before the woman was liquified. She stepped back, knowing she’d been too late. “Get those pods open, hurry!” she shouted, racing over to the nearest one and beginning to pry it open. The rest of her squad followed suit and it wasn’t long before they’d managed to free the crew who were gasping and gripping each other.

Chackwas stepped forward, having been in the one Shepard had pried open. “Thank you, Commander,” she said. She gave the commander a look. “I know you have to stop these collectors and we’re grateful for the save, but you have to be careful for your own sake. You’re still wounded.”

Shepard shook her head. “If we die here, my injury won’t matter.”

“Commander, the colonists...they were turned into gray sludge -- processed. Then sent through the tubes,” Kelly Chambers said, gesturing above.

Shepard followed their gaze and she grimaced. Wherever those tubes went, they’d probably have to follow them and destroy them. “Joker, can you get a lock on our position?”

 _[Roger that, Commander. All those tubes lead into the main control room right above you. The route is blocked by a security door, but there’s another chamber that runs parallel to the one you’re in.]_ the pilot responded.

Then EDI chimed in. _[I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin’s countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once. There is also another path that can be used as a diversion.]_

“We don’t have much of an option,” Shepard said, pacing slightly.

“Commander, I can create a biotic shield that could protect a small squad,” Samara spoke up.

“In theory, any biotic could do it,” Miranda said. “We’ll have another team cause a diversion.”

Shepard nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking over the options. “Samara and I will take a small team through. Miranda, you lead the other squad.”

“What about me and the rest of the crew, Commander? We’re in no shape to fight.” Chackwas .

_[Commander? We have enough systems online to do a pick up, but we’d need to land back from your position.]_

Another deep sigh. As Miranda opened her mouth to speak, she held up a hand. “I’m aware we can’t go back now. It’s too risky,” she said to the woman. Then she turned to look at her squad and the crew. “We’ll send an escort. Mordin, go with them.”

“Joker, send coordinates. Will meet you there,” the fast talking Salarian said before he and the crew departed.

Shepard looked at who was left, her gaze meeting all of them. “Thane and Tali, come with me, the rest of you follow Miranda.”

She felt the icy gaze of Garrus on her and she met his gaze for a brief moment before she broke eye contact. “Let’s move out,” she said before she and her squad headed into the swarm.

The air was thick with seekers. So much so that in some places it was hard to see. Shepard glanced over at Samara, glad to have her with her and the others to protect them from the swarm. With that many of them around? Odds are they would be overwhelmed within seconds.

It certainly didn’t help when Collectors flew in, shooting and charging at them. Shepard let out a curse as Samara raced to cover and she and the others let loose. It also didn’t help that the seekers were interfering with radio contact -- something they’d discovered earlier.

Luckily, it didn’t take too long before the collectors were down and they moved on again. But then the husks started crawling up from who knows where. Shepard held back a screech -- never having liked husks -- as she fired upon them. She seriously hated the damned things. They reminded her of Zombies from those old earth films and she _hated_ zombies.

The group continued, fighting their way through more husks and collectors before two Scions showed up. Shepard was ready to just blow the damned base up by this point. She hated husks, she hated scions, she hated collectors, she hated the Harbinger, and she hated the Reapers. She also very much hated that she had been shot and killed thanks to this ship and that they were kidnapping humans and turning into sludge for...something.

While she was shooting every enemy that came in sight and growling her hatred in her mind, she was brought out her thoughts as Samara’s shield started to waver. Shit. She gave the asari justicar a concerned look, but she reassured her that she would hold out as long as she could.

As they rounded the corner and spotted the entrance that would lead them out of this hell hole, she gave a slight sigh of relief. At least until collectors started appearing behind them.

“Shit!” she shouted out loud, earning a somewhat shocked look from Tali and Thane who were surprised by the Commander's outburst.

She turned and began shooting behind her as Samara and the others picked up the pace to run. She followed them, occasionally swinging her assault rifle behind her to shoot at their pursers. Then as Samara shot a biotic blast at the attackers as they passed the doors, she heaved a slight sigh of relief as they sealed shut and the other team raced in from their entrance.

She sighed and then grunted slightly as she felt pain on her wounded side shoot through her. She lifted one hand to grip her side and with her other reached out for something to grip to keep her legs from threatening to give way, only to find her hand being taken by a three fingered one. She blinked and looked up into the concerned blue eyes of her dear turian friend.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, being the only one around besides Legion about her still healing wound.

She grimaced. “It doesn’t matter. We don’t have time to worry about my wound,” she told him, pulling up her omni tool and administering some medigel. That helped the pain subside for the time being.

He didn’t let go of his grasp on her hand and his mandibles pulled tight to his face in concern, but he didn’t argue with her for now. They both knew what was at stake and that she was too stubborn to stop when they were so close.

“Okay people, we need to follow those tubes,” she said, pulling away from Garrus and clapping her hands together.

 _[Commander, Mordin and the crew made it back safely, no casualties. Also, the collectors are hacking the door. I estimate a few minutes before they make it to the other side.]_ EDI chimed over the coms.

Shepard let out a puff and crossed her arms before leaning on one of her hips.

“Commander, you take a small team with you to the control room and the rest of us will stay here and hold them off for as long as we can,” Miranda suggested.

“Good idea,” she said. She looked at her squad before she walked over to the moveable platform that was behind them, climbing on top. She estimated those who would be best to be able to hold the line up and then focused her gazes on who she would choose: Tali and Jack.

The two nodded and then joined her. She then looked at all of them. This was the final stretch, she could feel it. If all went well, they would make it out of this alive. If it didn’t...well, then their sacrifices would hopefully not be in vain.

If they died here, she would at least give them one last speech. “The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren’t a threat to us. They’re a threat to everything. Everyone. Those are the lives we’re fighting for. That’s the scale.”

She paused and began to pace on the platform. “It’s been a long journey, and no one’s coming out without scars, but it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud,” she concluded.

The team nodded and Garrus gave her a light smile, his mandibles flicking out. “Good luck, Shepard. We’ll do our best,” Miranda said. Then she and the others turned around to face the door as the platform disengaged and headed towards the control room.

Shepard pulled out her gun just in case there was a fight and as they began to approach the room, EDI started speaking to her what the humans had been used for, just before she saw it for herself. Her legs threatened to give out at the sight in front of her that was truly terrifying. “A human Reaper,” she whispered softly.

 _[Precisely]_ EDI responded. _[The Reapers in order to “reproduce” must use the DNA of some of the races they encounter. The tubes that pump the human DNA into the reaper appear to be its weak points.]_

“Understood,” Shepard said, pulling out her sniper and aiming it at the tubes. As they bared open for her, she looked through her scope and fired on one, shattering it. She wasn’t fast enough to get another one before a metal casing moved to cover the weak point. She swore under her breath as platforms filled with Collectors started moving towards them.

With a few quick gestures to Jack and Tali, they diverted the Collector’s attention and took them out while Shepard set herself up for the next shot at the tubes. This continued until all four tubes had been destroyed and the Reaper began to sag, sounds of metal screeching and wires popping out of sockets before the human Reaper fell.

Jack let out a whoop of triumph and even Tali looked excited through her suit. But Shepard knew there was more to do. She walked over to the console EDI indicated would be used to blow up the station. As she pulled the capsule out, Joker came over the coms.

 _[Uh, Commander? I have an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI’s patching it through]_.

All three women let out a sigh of annoyance before Tali lifted her omnitool, making a hologram of the man appear while Shepard stood and crossed her arms and Jack scowled.

“Shepard, I’ve just seen the schematics that EDI sent. A timed radiation pulse would kill any remaining Collectors and seeker swarms. It would leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us.”

Shepard scowled at him too now. “Really now? And why should I even consider your proposal, after all the Reapers have done...after all YOU have done.”

“Don’t be short-sighted. Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them,” he said.

All three women glared daggers at him. Jack balled her fists, her body flickering with biotic energy as if she could tear apart the hologram.

“No. I’m not doing what you want. I’ve played your little game of working with Cerberus. Using this kind of technology isn’t worth the cost.”

“Shepard, you died fighting for what you believe. I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say what we did to you was going too far but look at what you’ve accomplished! I didn’t discard you because I knew your value. Don’t be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential!”

She practically snarled as she stepped closer to him. “Yes, I died fighting what I believed in. And doing what you are asking would be betraying who I truly am. I’m not like you, and I never will be,” she said before she turned around and began the process to destroy the ship.

“Shep-” his voice cut out as Tali cut off the communication and Shepard turned and cast a grin at her friend.

Standing away from her work, she turned to the others. “Let’s move, we only have 10 minutes before the reactor blows this whole station apart,” she said.

They nodded and began to move. But that’s when the human-Reaper rose up from behind them, bellowing at them.

“Shit,” Shepard swore, jumping behind some cover. She looked around them, watching as Tali and Jack got into cover. She switched to her sniper and shouted at them, “give me some cover!” before she aimed at the eyes of the reaper. With a steadying breath, she centered herself and then pulled the trigger.

The Reaper jerked back as it was shot, one of its eyes now damaged. It made an angry bellow before ducking away.

Shepard just barely glanced at Jack and Tali to make sure they were holding their own as the Reaper popped back up and she aimed at another eye, hitting it as well. There was one eye left. The Reaper smashed into some of the platforms, luckily none were near them, although it did make the platforms they were on shake.

She took aim at the last eye as the Reaper bellowed again and prepared to fire its lazer. Then with an exhale, time seemed to slow down as her last shot hit the third and final eye. The creature bellowed one last time before it collapsed and fell down.

Jack and Tali both let out a sound of triumph before Shepard shouted at them as she spotted a stay platform shooting toward them. “Come on! Move, move!” she said, waving her hands. It was all for not. They’d barely just started running when the platform smashed into where they were standing, sending them flying.

Shepard blacked out for a moment, but when she came to, she felt a great weight on her back. Groaning, she moved her arms under her and then pushed with all her strength. The metal piece on her back shifted and she sat for a moment, getting her breath back before she stood to her feet, looking around.

She noticed Jack nearby, laying on her stomach. She walked over and turned her over, looking at the stunned expression on the other woman’s face. She offered a hand to her and grunted as she took it, her wounded side protesting at the sudden weight.

She grimaced and then walked over to where she noticed the purples and blacks of Tali’s armor. Tali seemed to be struggling with the metal, and as she went over to lift it, the metal glowed a biotic blue and Shepard gave Jack a grateful nod as the metal was moved. Tali then stood up and the three of them nodded.

That’s when they heard the voice of the Harbinger once more and saw a swarm of seekers coming toward them. “Move, move!” she shouted again, turning and racing down the hall. Her hand went to her injured side which protested with every move -- she must have opened the wound again. Damn it.

The three of them raced through the ship, firing at the Collectors before they spotted the _Normandy_. “Go, go!” Shepard shouted, turning and firing at their attackers as the others raced on board.

There was a creaking and she ground shook as two of the platforms which had led to a walk-through path fell. Shepard swore under her breath and checked behind her as she took a few steps back. Then she raced toward the ship. She jumped as she reached the end of the last platform, feeling nothing but air beneath her.

She just barely made it, the fingers on her right hand just barely catching the edge. She could feel herself slipping, but then Tali’s hand wrapped around her arm and began to pull her up while Joker and Jack shot at the collectors.

Her right side shrieking in pain as she was pulled up, Shepard panted and then gripped onto Tali as she reached safety. She could feel her wound had opened up once more and she knew she would be put on bedrest for a while.

She leaned into Tali as the other woman wrapped her arm around her and they stumbled toward the Medbay. Shepard barely even noticed Garrus appearing at her other side apart from his familiar smell and his rumbling voice soothing her. She didn’t hear any words as she concentrated on not passing out, even while her vision swam and her thoughts slowed, making it hard for her to think.

She was only just barely aware of Tali leaving her side, allowing Garrus to take her the rest of the medbay. Thankfully, the room was one of the few not damaged. Garrus deposited her into the helpful care of Chakwas, and while she knew he would’ve stayed, she was vaguely aware of the Doctor shooing him out so she could work and he could help repair the ship.

She felt her consciousness begin to fade, but this time she knew she would be safe that she wouldn’t die. And she knew that the Collectors had been defeated, so for at least a little while, she could rest easy, even if it was only long enough for her to heal up. But she would be back in the fight soon. The Reapers were still out there. But for now...for now she would rest and recuperate.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Suicide mission!! I thought it would be interesting to have Shep go injured, just to show that Amalia will push herself to the brink to save people, even if she's injured -- even if she gives everyone else a heart attack in the meantime. I'm still working out some of the kinks to Mali to make her more original, but it's a challenge sometimes.
> 
> Originally, this was going to be the last chapter of the act, but then I realized I should probably incorporate some DLC content to help my story narrative. So...next chapter will be the Arrival DLC. If you haven't played it and don't want it spoiled like it was for me, I suggest you skip that chapter and wait for the next Act to come out.
> 
> Also, an update on my personal life: I'm still preparing to move to an on-campus apartment. I will be packing up more within the next week or so as I'm moving in on Oct 1. If you follow me on any of my other social media, I'll be continuing to attempt to update with stuff during this time.
> 
> As always, please leave kudos, comments, or bookmarks! And Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
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	13. Chapter 12

Shepard stood at the CIC, looking down at the galaxy map. Most of the members of her squad had decided to go their own ways for the time being, having things to do. Even Garrus had decided to leave her in order to try reconnecting with his father and sister whom he’d lost contact with since Shepard had died. As they’d parted at the Citadel, he told her he’d try to stay in contact with her while they were apart.

She smiled at the memory. She would miss him, but she trusted him enough to not worry about him disappearing on her.

It was as she was looking at the Galaxy map, musing over her goodbyes with the team when Joker’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “Commander Shepard, you have an incoming call from Admiral Hackett. He wants to speak to you privately.”

She blinked. “Of course, send the com up to my room,” she said, leaving the deck and heading up to her cabin.

“Commander Shepard, thank you for your time. I’ll keep this brief,” the Admiral greeted her.

She nodded and stood at ease. “What’s the situation, Admiral?” she asked, knowing him well enough that he didn’t just call her for the fun of it. If he was calling her, something serious was going down.

“We have a deep-cover operative out in Batarian space. Name’s Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion.”

She felt a spark of dread hit her. Already? “So why call me? Why not send in your fleet?”

“Just this morning I received word that Batarians arrested her. They’re holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favor to me, I’m asking you to go in alone.”

Well, that wouldn’t be a problem. Most of her squad had already gone their separate ways, some of them even dropping contact with her in order to focus on what they would be doing. Only Jacob and Miranda were still on board, but she suspected they would be leaving next time they were on the Citadel before they reached Earth as they would no doubt both be in trouble for working with Cerberus. She nodded. “I’ll head out as soon as I can,” she said.

He nodded before giving her some more information on the mission. “The prison is hidden underground at a batarian outpost on Arathot. I’ll upload the coordinates now,” he said, leaning down on vidcom for a moment. Then he met her gaze again. “Once she’s secure, confirm her discovery. We’ll debrief you when you’re back.”

“Got it.”

“Hackett out,” he said before he hung up the vidcall.

She sighed softly before she turned to EDI. “EDI, I just received a covert operation. I’m going to be gone for a little while. If I’m not back or don’t make contact for more than 24 hours, tell Joker to head to Arathot. Don’t tell anyone about this,” she said, giving the computer a harsh look as if she could stare down the AI.

“Alright, Commander.”

She nodded and then headed to the elevator where she went to a shuttle. She told the shuttle pilot to head to the coordinates, but told them nothing as she suited up and strapped on her weapons. Once that was done, she climbed in and they headed to Arathot.

Reaching the coordinates, she hopped out of the shuttle and told the pilot to head back to stay in orbit, but keep hidden from Batarian scans. The pilot nodded and then flew off, leaving her to explore the prison to look for the Doctor.

Quietly, the Commander made her way through the prison, dispatching any varren or batarians she came across. She listened to them talking about the doctor before quickly dispatching them with minimal sounds.

It didn’t take her long to find the Doctor who was being interrogated by a Batarian. The woman gave nothing away, even as she was tortured. Shepard pursed her lips before she maneuvered her way into the room and knocked the guard out.

“Who are you? What are you doing?” the woman asked as Shepard walked to the back of the torture device.

“Doctor Kenson? I’m Commander Shepard. I’m here to get you out,” she said as she began to fiddle with the machinery.

“Commander Shepard? I’d heard you were alive. Hackett must have received my message.”

She nodded, even though the doctor couldn’t see. “We’re not safe here. Can you walk?” she asked as the bonds around Kenson loosened, allowing the woman to get free.

“I’m fine, just give me a moment,” she said, shaking her head.

Shepard looked behind them. “We don’t have time. We have to go, now.”

“If we find a console, I can hack security...make us an escape path.”

That’s when the alarms went off. Shepard swore softly. “Then we’ll find one. Let’s go,” she said, leading the way. Around the corner there was a guard which she quickly dispatched.

The two women then made their way through the prison before eventually finding a console. “They know we’re here, keep them off me while I hack the console.”

Shepard fought a roll of her eyes. Of course they knew they were here. The damned alarms had gone off. Nevertheless, she guarded the doctor as batarians came after them. It wasn’t long before the console was hacked and she and Kenson made their way to the docking bay where a fight ensued and the doors were locked. With a few quick shots, the hanger bay opened and she and Kenson boarded the shuttle that was inside.

Once aboard the shuttle, while flying through space, Doctor Kenson initiated the autopilot sequence.

“Do you think they’ll come after you?”

“I’m not taking any chances. Batarians don’t take kindly to humans who plan to destroy their mass relays.”

Shepard looked at her and narrowed her eyes. “So the charges against you are true,” she said.

“Well, to be fair that’s only about half the story. My people and I were investigating rumors of Reaper technology out in the fringes of this system.”

Because of course they were. She crossed her arms. “I suppose you found something then,” she said.

Kenson nodded. “We found proof that the Reapers will be arriving in this system. When they get here, they’ll use its mass relay to travel throughout the galaxy. We call it the ‘Alpha Relay’. From here, the Reapers can invade anywhere in the galaxy.”

Shepard looked at her and crossed her arms. “So you decided to destroy it.”

“Exactly. Doing that would stop the Reapers’ invasion. Even at FTL, it’d be months or years before they got to the next relay. We came up with what we just called ‘The Project’: a plan to launch a nearby asteroid into it and destroy it before the Reapers could arrive. Of course the resulting explosion would probably wipe out the system.”

Amalia frowned and pursed her lips, shifting on her feet. That would kill hundreds of people. Even if she wasn’t too fond of batarians due to what they did to humans, she couldn’t just let them die without trying to warn them. Still, she was skeptical about this whole situation. It made logical sense that something hurtled at a mass relay could possibly damage it, especially if it hit the center -- although she’d never heard about it before.

“How did you even learn of this plot?” she asked, focusing her gaze on Doctor Henson.

“The evidence came from what we call Object Rho, a Reaper artifact we discovered among the asteroids near the relay itself.”

Shit. This had bad news written all over it.

“When we get back to Arcturus Station, I’ll explain everything and provide copies of all our notes on the artifact.”

Sure, like nothing could go wrong with a Reaper artifact. Who knew what the hell that thing would do? She gave the woman a look. If what she was saying was true, could this artifact have the abilities to indoctrinate like a Reaper could? If so, the chances were this woman and everyone at the station was already under the Reaper’s sway, even if they didn’t know it yet. Even so, if this was a Reaper artifact, why would it be telling them when the Reapers would come? How would they know that they weren’t being tricked.

Shepard realized she’d just stumbled into a whole shit load of trouble. She didn’t want to get near the Reaper artifact, but she also knew she couldn’t risk letting the Reapers into the galaxy if this was true. She bit the insides of her cheek as she considered her options. She rolled her neck, trying to think. What should she do? This artifact would be dangerous -- there wasn’t a doubt in her mind about that.

She sighed. If this woman was indoctrinated, and this Alpha Relay was information was correct, then the Reapers would try to stop her from activating the device. That would risk trillions of lives. Closing her eyes, she came to the decision. “There’s a big risk in this operation. If I’m going to condemn thousands of people to their death, I want to make sure the evidence is worth it.” She did not like the idea of getting near a Reaper artifact, but if this Reaper invasion was indeed true, she would do all she could to stop it. She wouldn’t trust these people who had been near the artifact for who knows how long.

“I guess I can’t argue with that. Give me a moment,” Kenson said, moving away from Shepard.

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of the woman. She didn’t trust her now.

“Kenson to Project Base…” there was a pause which Shepard assumed was whoever was on the other end. “Affirmative. And I’ve got Commander Shepard with me,” she glanced over at Amalia at that, making the Commander frown just slightly. “Tidy up the lab. The Commander needs to confirm the artifact.”

There was another pause before she walked over and sat down, facing Shepard. “All set. Just sit back and relax.We’ll be there in no time.”

Relax? How could she relax when the threat of a Reaper invasion was laid before her feet? How could she relax when she knew she might very well be walking into a trap? How could she relax when there was the chance of being indoctrinated? No, she couldn’t relax. Not really, but she moved to sit down and willed herself to still, tucking away her private thoughts to keep them from this woman. She wouldn’t risk anything until she’d confirmed her suspicions about this artifact and the Reapers.

And Kenson was right. It wasn’t long when she spotted the Asteroid where the shuttle flew towards and then proceeded to land. She was cautious as she stepped out, following the doctor.

“Here we are. Welcome to Project Base,” she said, walking toward the door.

As they approached, she noticed a countdown above the door. “What’s this?” she asked, gesturing towards it.

Doctor Kenson followed her gesture. “That’s our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero...the Reapers will come.”

“Just over 2 days and counting. Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it.”

Yeah, it did. Amalia felt a bolt of fear shiver up her spine. “You’re saying the Reapers could be upon the Galaxy in two days. There’s no time to waste,” she said. Every planet was in danger.

“Then let’s show you that proof. That door exits the hanger. The artifact is in our central lab area,” she said before she took off.

Holy hell. The artifact was on the base, in the center of it. She felt nerves wind tight up inside her. Her gut told her to run the hell away, but she couldn’t just run. She needed to warn the batarians and she needed to destroy the Relay, so she followed the doctor, even while every bone in her body screamed that this was bad news.

They wandered through the base, Kenson telling her about how destroying the Relay was the only way to stop the Reapers from destroying the entire galaxy in one fell swoop. Shepard followed her grimly, that ball in her stomach wrapping tighter and tighter in her stomach.

Then they entered the central lab. She froze, fear sliding through her as she saw the artifact. Shit, shit, shit! She knew before the doctor even spoke that this was Reaper tech. She’d seen it enough when she’d fought Sovereign and when she’d fought the Collectors.

“Commander Shepard, I give you Object Rho!” she said, spreading her arms out wide like it was something to worship.

This woman was definitely indoctrinated. “You have the Reaper artifact just sitting here out here in the open?” she asked, a growl in her throat as she reached for the pistol on her hip.

“When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reaper’s arrival.”

Yep, definitely indoctrinated. She didn’t wait for any more words to be spoken before she pulled out her pistol and aimed it at the woman. “You’re indoctrinated,” she hissed.

Doctor Kenson looked at her and gave her a wolfish smile. One that sent shivers up Shepard’s spine. That’s when she felt a sudden shrieking, overwhelming pain hit her skull. She jolted and stepped back, a headache overwhelming her as he vision went white. She saw the Reapers, moving toward the Relay, and she knew that this artifact indeed had showed her what would happen.

Her ears rang for a moment and she shook her head to clear it. When she came too, she felt the barrel of a gun on her forehead. Her gun. The gun she’d dropped as she’d had the artifact invade her mind. Even now, she could feel immense pain in her head, claws trying to wrap around her brain, trying to control her.

“I can’t let you start the Project. I can’t let you stop the arrival,” Kenson said, her words now contradicting what she’d been saying earlier.

Shepard gritted her teeth, trying to fight off the claws digging into her mind, even while soldiers surrounded her.

With immense will power, she jolted to her feet and grabbed Henson’s arm, twisting it so she dropped the gun. Her head pounded, everything blurry and moving in slow motion as she shoved Henson away while the soldiers opened fire on her.

“Take her down!” Kenson cried as she escaped the room.

The fight was on. Even while the claws continued to claw at her mind and the artifact began to speak.

**_“Do not resist. Give yourself over and be spared”_ **

She hissed as she felt the claws trying to dig deeper into her mind and she pushed back, continuing to fight.

“We don’t want to hurt you, Commander. Lay down your weapons,” Kenson’s voice said over the coms.

Like hell she would.

**_“Your galaxy is in sight. Your final days are at hand.”_ **

She felt the claws digging deeper, making her head flare with pain. 

“This will only get worse for your Shepard.”

**_“The end of your species will come.”_ **

Not if she could help it. She grit her teeth.

“Patience, it’s only a matter of time.”

**_“Struggle if you wish. Your mind will be mine.”_ **

She felt the claws digging deeper, but she pushed back, even as she felt a trickle of warm blood slide from her nose, the taste of iron in her mouth.

“Have faith in the artifact. It’ll be over soon.”

Object Rho gave another pulse, this one stronger than the last. She felt it’s claws sliding into her mind and she fell to one knee, her strength failing her.

**_“You shall be the first to witness our arrival.”_ **

It gave one last pulse and she felt her consciousness begin to fade. She fell to the ground and through the blur and the haze, she saw Kenson walking toward her, her eyes glowing like the Reapers. Her voice was distorted as she spoke, looking down at Shepard. “Take her to the Medbay. Patch her up. We want Shepard alive,” she said.

Shepard felt the last ounces of her strength fading, a thought crossing her mind that perhaps the artifact couldn’t indoctrinate her if she was unconscious. Then everything went black.

When she started to come to, she heard the sound of a woman’s voice, echoing through her head. “...like Shepard was waking up a moment ago. But it could be a glitch in the system.”

Her head ached and she shook it lightly as she sat up with a groan.

The woman then glanced over. “No glitch. The sedatives aren’t working!” she shouted, moving away from her. “Security!” she shouted, turning and racing out of the room.

Shepard blinked and glanced around, noticing the guards nearby. Before they could react, she raced over and punched both of them in the face, knocking them out before they could shoot at her. The doorway before her suddenly had a barrier. She looked at it and growled softly, noting quietly that she didn’t have her armor on as she looked around. She began to wander around the room, looking for a way out.

It was then that she approached a console, the woman shouted out, “Step away from the console!”

Shepard raised a brow at her. She seemed desperate. Shepard touched the screen before she began to use the controls to move one of the mechs, even while the woman called for backup. Quickly, she used the mech to gun down the others and turn off the power to the barrier, destroying the mech in the process.

She didn’t smile as she stepped back from the console. She needed to figure out where she was, how long she had been out for, and she needed to destroy the Alpha Relay.

“All available personnel to the medical bay. Do not let her activate the Project,” Henson’s voice over the coms said.

Shepard ignored her as she rounded the corner and noticed the weapons rack where her armor and weapons were. With a grim smile, she began equipping herself as fast as she could. She glanced up at the timer above the locker and swore. She’d been out for two days. There was only one hour left before the Reapers were alive.

As she was preparing to head out, she heard her coms crackle. It took a moment before spotty connection came online.

_ [Shepard? Skzzt...are you...skzzt...Commander, answer…] _ Miranda’s voice crackled over her coms. She pursed her lips. Calvary had come. EDI had stayed true to her word.

She placed a hand to her com as she began to move through the base. “I’m here. I need you to send a message to Arathot. I’m about to send this rock hurtling into the mass relay and it will destroy this system. I don’t have time to explain, but we need to warn the batarians,” she said.

_ [Will do...skzzt...what about you?] _

“Don’t worry about me right now,” she said as she began gunning down the soldiers who got in her way.

She made her way to the control room and when she did, she shot the soldiers within before approaching the controls. “Welcome to Project Control,” the machine said as she approached.

“I want to activate the project.”

“Warning. Activating the Project will result in an estimated three hundred and five thousand casualties. Do you wish to continue?”

She stepped back from the console and closed her eyes for a moment. If Miranda and the others didn’t get her full message, this could result in thousands of deaths. But if she didn’t activate it, there would be countless more. She stepped forward and activated it, praying to whatever gods up there that the Normandy was able to warn the batarians.

“Project activation in progress. Warning: Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures.”

“Miranda,” she said, activating her coms, “did you warn-” she cut off as she heard Doctor Kenson shouting over the base coms.

“Shepard! No! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You leave me no choice. If we can’t stop this asteroid, it must be destroyed!”

Shepard growled and spoke to the computer. “Tell me where to find Doctor Kenson.”

“Doctor Kenson is travelling to the reactor core module.”

“An eezo core meltdown should do it. Because of you, everyone on this rock will be obliterated!”

Shepard narrowed her eyes. “No, they would’ve died anyway from this. The Reapers would have either left them husks, or killed them when they arrived,” she said before she backed away from the console and began to race toward the core.

As she reached the core, she walked around, searching for the doctor before she found her. “Don’t try to stop me, Shepard. I have to do this.”

“I’ve already activated the Project. We can escape this rock!” she tried to reason, even while feeling this was falling on deaf ears.

Doctor Kenson turned away from her, looking at the core. “There is no escape. There is no redemption from what you’ve done. I will die never having seen the Reapers’ blessings. And you will just die,” she said.

Shepard narrowed her eyes. There was no hope for Henson, the Reapers had their claws too deep -- deeper than they had with Saren. She aimed her gun to shoot but hesitated, right before Kenson left her sight.

“Damn it,” she hissed before more guards set themselves upon her.

She fought her way through before finding herself in a room where she saw Dr. Kenson messing with the core.

“How do I stabilize the reactor core?” she asked aloud.

“All automatic safety protocols have been overridden. To stabilize the reactor core: Manually insert Cooling Rod A from this control station. Manually insert Cooling Rod B from Control Station B. Doing so will stabilize the reactor core.”

Because nothing was ever easy. Amalia sighed and put her hands on the cooling rod before her, pushing down on it. “Cooling Rod A inserted. Reactor cooling process has begun.”

She then began to race through the base to the other control center, shooting through anyone who got in her way. As soon as she inserted the second cooling rod, she heard Kenson once again.

“You’ve done nothing, Shepard. I can still override power to the engines!”

Shepard growled before she began to race down to where she saw Kenson. As she entered the room, she pointed her gun at the woman. “Step away from the reactor.”

She shook her hands in annoyance. “You’ve ruined everything! I can’t hear the whispers anymore,” her voice seemed to break.

“Turn around. Now!” she shouted. She didn’t think she could reason with her anymore, but she wanted to try.

“You’ve taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers’ arrival.”

_ Good. _ Thought Amalia as the woman turned around, the trigger for a bomb in her hand. Her eyes widened.

“All you had to do was stay asleep. None of this had to happen.”

She didn’t think she would be able to get through to her, but she would try one last time. She lowered her gun. “Kenson! You don’t have to do this! We can get off this asteroid!”

“No. We cannot,” she said. Just as she was about to push the button, a bullet shot straight through her head. Amalia jerked and looked towards the direction of the bullet, spotting Miranda and Jacob heading towards her, guns drawn.

“Commander!” Miranda said.

“Thank God you’re here,” Amalia responded. “And now we need to go, come on!” she shouted, turning and racing the way they’d come. “Where’s the Normandy?”

“Just this way, we shot any guards we came across, but there may still be more,” the brunette said.

Amalia nodded, acknowledging the news as they made their way back to the ship. There were a few guards on their way, but nowhere near as many as Amalia had had to fight through earlier. And thank goodness Miranda and Jacob were there.

As they approached where the ship was, she spotted a familiar holographic form. A Reaper. She paused, looking up at it.

**_“Shepard. You have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fail. Your leaders will beg to serve us.”_ **

She glanced down for a moment. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we can’t win this,” she paused, looking back up at it, defiance in her gaze, even through her helmet. “But we’ll fight you regardless, just like we did Sovereign. Just like I’m doing now. However ‘insignificant’ we might be, we will fight, we will sacrifice, we  _ will _ find a way. That’s what humans do.”

**_“Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the Arrival.”_ ** Harbinger said, its holoform moving away from them before disappearing.

She grimaced and glanced towards Jacob and Miranda as they raced toward the ship. She followed after them, Harbinger’s words in her mind. She would fight until her very last breath to save the galaxy from the Reapers. As soon as she entered the ship, she raced toward the cockpit, not waiting to take off her armor. “Get us out of here Joker!” she shouted.

The pilot nodded and rapidly began to press various buttons on his console, racing them ahead of the asteroid toward the relay. Once they were safe, she turned to Miranda. “Did you get a message to the batarians?” she asked.

“We did, though it was difficult. They didn’t want to listen, and the communications were spotty.”

“Did anyone make it out?”

“We’ve received reports that a few shuttles were able to launch and get out of there before the Relay was destroyed, but not everyone made it.”

Amalia closed her eyes and bowed her head. She didn’t think everyone would make it, but at least some had. She gave them both a nod before she went and removed her armor, heading down to the medbay to get a check up. She didn’t know all that had happened during her two-day nap, but she knew that her brain was no doubt still traumatized from the artifact’s claws in her mind.

“EDI, Joker, set a course for the Citadel, I need to tell the council what happened in person,” she said.

_ [Right away, Commander.] _ EDI responded.

She hung her head as Chackwas began checking over her, and she submitted to the doctor’s tests. After this, she would let Garrus know what happened. She needed his advice, and to hear his voice, to know if she’d done the right thing.

When they arrived on the Citadel, on her way back from the Council, Admiral Hackett was waiting for her. He looked her up and down.

“It seems you’ve recovered well. It sounds like you went through hell down there. How are you feeling?”

She sighed. “It could be worse,” she said. “No more visions or claws in my mind if that’s what you mean. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“You went out there as a favor to me. I decided to debrief you in person. That was before the mass relay exploded and destroyed an entire batarian system. What the hell happened down there.”

Amalia looked down, shifting her feet. She took a moment before she looked back up at him as she grabbed her datapad, handing it to him. “I confirmed Dr. Kenson’s proof. The Reapers were coming. And destroying that relay was the only way to stop them,” she paused. “Kenson sedated me for almost two days, I started the engines with little more than an hour left. I had my crew warn the batarian colony, but not everyone made it.”

Hacket sighed softly. “The batarians reported very little survivors from Arathot. At least you tried.” He turned away from her for a moment, taking a few steps before he spoke to her again, his back turned. “And you believe the Reaper invasion really was a threat?”

“No doubt about it. We literally had minutes to spare.”

He turned toward her, his gaze harsh. “I’m sure all the details are in your report. I won’t lie to you Shepard. The batarians will want blood. There’s just enough evidence for a witch hunt. And we don’t want war with the batarians. Not with the Reapers at the galaxy’s edge.”

“What are you saying?” she asked.

“You did what you did for the best of reasons. But there were more than three hundred thousand batarians in that system, most of them dead.”

“Much as I hate to admit it, they died to save trillions of lives. If I could’ve saved all of them, you can bet your ass I would’ve.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, Commander. If it were up to me, I’d give you a damn medal. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way.”

She looked down and paced lightly before looking at him. “So what do you suggest?”

“Evidence against you is shotty at best. But at some point, you’ll have to go to Earth and face the consequences. I can’t stop it, but I can and will make them fight for it.”

She nodded. “I’ll gladly stand trial for my actions,” she said.

He gave a light smile and a nod. “Glad to see working with Cerberus hasn’t stripped away your honor. Do whatever you have to do out here, but when Earth calls, you make sure you’re there with you dress blues on, ready to take the hit. In the meantime, keep this, I don’t need to see your report to know you did the right thing,” he said, handing her back the datapad.

She took it and looked up at him. “Yes sir,” she said.

He gave her a nod and then turned, heading through the station to wherever he needed to next. Amalia pursed her lips. She would head to earth, after telling Miranda and Jacob to leave. She would not have them take the fall for her actions, especially considering they were ex-Cerberus.

With her mind made up, she headed into her ship and said goodbye to the last of her squad before making her way to earth. On her way there, she sent a vidcall to Garrus, waiting in her room for him to answer.

It took a moment before she answered and she felt relief seeing his face, quickly squashed by what she would have to tell him.

“Amalia,” he rumbled, his voice caressing her name. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.

She looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze. Then she explained what she’d just been through. After she was done, he was silent for a moment before he nodded softly.

“You did what you had to, Amalia. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I assume since you’ll be heading to earth for your trial, you won’t be able to be in contact with me?”

She nodded. “Correct. I don’t know how long it will be, or what will happen, but I thought you should know.”

His mandibles flared lightly in a smile. “Well, if this is the last time I get to see you for a while, I have something to say to you.”

“Oh?”

His eyes flashed lightly before he leaned forward toward the screen. “I...miss you,” he said with slight hesitation as if he was going to say something else but stopped himself.

She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been about to say what she felt.  _ I love you _ . Is what she wanted to say to him, but she didn’t. Instead she smiled and rest her hand against her side of the screen. “I miss you too.”

He smiled back and rested his hand against his side of the screen. “There is no Shepard without Vakarian.”

“And there is no Vakarian without Shepard,” she finished before she ended the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Claps hands together dramatically*
> 
> And with that folks, Act 1 is now officially complete! I hope y'all have enjoyed it so far and are looking forward to Act 2 which will span the events of Mass Effect 3.
> 
> First this chapter, I had to watch several playthroughs in order to get the correct information for what I was trying to write. TBH, I ended up changing bits of the story (like Miranda and Jacob coming to the rescue) in order to make it more believable for my Shep. Amalia is a good soldier, but even she knows better then to leave herself with very little options to escape or would trust someone who had been around a Reaper Artifact like Dr. Kenson. I always found that weird in the game that Shep didn't question Kenson until it was practically throne in their face that Kenson was indoctrinated.
> 
> Also, an update: I have finally moved into my on-campus apartment and have all my furniture (I'm legit sitting in my super comfy overstuffed chair as I'm writing this author's note). I still have things to unpack and sort, but most of my things are in good places. I'm also currently working on my other fanfiction: "Unlikely, Unforeseen Romance" where Shepard is a Turian and Garrus is a human. If you haven't checked it out, I suggest you do, it's really fun to write an AU where the races or stories are switched.
> 
> As always, please leave kudos, comments, or bookmarks! And Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
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	14. Act 2 Prologue

_ Grounded _ .  _ On trial. _ Those were the words said to her by Admiral Hackett as soon as she’d landed. He’d warned her of this of course, that due to her “connections” with Cerberus and her actions at Arathot with the Alpha Relay. That didn’t make this any easier.

Their “trial” consisted of keeping her locked up tight in a room with little to no contact with the outside world except to get food and when they needed her to “confirm or deny” things she’d already told them many times. It frustrated her to no end that they had her locked up when she could be out there, hunting for the Reapers which she knew were coming, even if her efforts had only delayed them.

She currently sat in her room, looking at a datapad out of pure boredom, her hair pulled out of its usual bun as she twirled it around her fingers. She looked up as the sound of the door unlocking caught her attention before it hissed open.

She jumped to her feet from where she’d been sitting and then froze in place as she spotted the two men on the other side. One of them was Anderson. Standing next to him was a thinner man with dirty-blond hair and indigo eyes. The blond man was younger than Anderson by far, but older than herself.

She knew this man. She set the datapad down and her eyes narrowed slightly as she crossed her arms, doing her best not to show that she knew him. She barely noticed the cat sitting in her brother’s arms, looking peaceful as he napped.

“Anderson, who is this?” she asked carefully, keeping her voice from giving anything away.

“Shepard, he says he’s your brother. He also brought your cat,” Anderson said, nodding to the gray, furry animal.

She looked between them for a moment before sighing. “Yeah, fine, he and I are blood related. But he stopped being my brother the moment he abandoned me on Earth,” she said, her voice cold as memories of what she’d gone through started to resurface, clawing their way to the front of her mind -- wanting her to relive the pain.

Her brother flinched just slightly and looked down. “I’m sorry, Mali…” he trailed off.

She looked to Anderson, her gaze smoldering which signaled for him to leave the two siblings alone. He told her he’d be outside if she needed anything before excusing himself.

Once the two of them were alone, she fixed her gaze on him. “Don’t call me that,” she said, her voice low.

He shuffled his feet. Then he looked up as Percival, her cat, stirred and looked up at him. The cat looked around before noticing his owner. The cat did nothing but then curled up more into her brother’s arms.

_ Traitor _ . She thought, though she could never really be angry at her cat, even as he sprang from her brother’s grasp to explore the room. She hadn’t seen him since she’d left the Citadel to go on the hunt for the geth that killed...she felt a knot form in her throat as that thought graced her and her hands tightened on her arms. “How did you find out?” she asked.

“Well...I…” he looked up at her now, his indigo gaze meeting her violet one. “After you didn’t kill me when Toombs had me at gunpoint, I decided to do some research. It wasn’t too hard to figure out you were my sister. I would never be able to forget those violet eyes.”

She was silent as he spoke, uncertain as to what to say or do. She lightly rubbed her arm with one hand. “Why did you do it? Why did you abandon me and sell me into slavery?”

His eyes widened and his arms dropped to his side in shock. “Slavery? Is that what happened to you? Oh God, Amalia. I didn’t...I’m so sorry,” he said.

The look in his eyes told her that he didn’t know what she’d been through, didn’t even know she’d become a slave. A young girl who had her virginity taken away by cruel men. She looked away, trying to hide the broken and shattered soul she knew was within her -- even if part of it had been repaired by Garrus.

“Yeah, well, you didn’t say anything to me as you left,” she said.

“I…” he trailed off and gritted his teeth. “I know. I shouldn’t have. Even to this day, I don’t know if I should have taken you with me. You might’ve just ended up working for Cerberus instead of being part of the Alliance and a Spectre.”

She looked at him. Perhaps he was right about that. “But still, why did you leave me?” she asked in a whisper.

He gave a tight smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “I was selfish I guess. I really hated aliens after what they did to Mom and Dad, you know? No one on earth would help me get back at them. No one but Cerberus. By the time I realized I wasn’t just hurting aliens but our own people -- you for instance, I was too far down to escape. I had managed to help Toombs escape, but then he found me, shortly before you showed up. Once you decided not to take my life, I realized I could change. So I did.

“When you...died, I decided to reach out to Admiral Hackett. I told him who I was and that I wanted to help the Alliance. It took some convincing on both parts before he decided to let me help with the science department. He didn’t tell me you were alive until you were on your way back here. He made sure I was able to come here to be here for you.”

She looked him over. He was telling the truth, both her gut and his eyes were telling her that. Part of her wondered about him saying that an alien killed their parents, and she was tempted to ask, but another part of her didn’t want to know. Not at this time.

“But still, why didn’t you come looking for me, why did you sell me?”

His gaze became sympathetic. “I was desperate. I wanted to get off Earth, and in order to do so, I gave you to someone who I thought would be able to give you your best life. Obviously, I was a stupid teenager and didn’t realize they were slavers. And I did try to find you, but when I returned, they said you were gone. I thought you were dead until you appeared three years ago.”

She looked at him, still trying to gauge him. She wanted to trust him, and while she had seen him cleaning up his act after their encounter all those years ago, she still didn’t know what to make of him.

“Listen, now knowing what happened to you, I don’t think there’s anything I could do or say to make up for what I did. And I won’t ask for your forgiveness, even if I do apologize a million times. I just...I just wanted to see you, to confirm that you were alive and tell you I was sorry, and bring you Percival,” he said, nodding toward the cat. “Now that I’ve delivered your cat and apologized, I’ll leave you be, you never have to speak to me again.”

She glanced at the gray beast who seemed quite comfortable in the place he’d found for himself on the couch before looking at her brother once more. “Wait,” she said, uncrossing her arms and walking over.

He paused and looked at her. She stopped herself once she was right in front of him, scanning his face, his eyes. Her gaze softened and then she extended her hand towards him for him to shake.

He looked at it, confused before he took it, only to suddenly be pulled into her grasp as she hugged him. Her body was shaking slightly with the tears she was holding back. She’d missed her brother. Despite all he’d done, he was still family. She knew she was trapped here until the Alliance leaders stopped deciding to argue and come up with a punishment -- or the Reapers came. Whatever the outcome, she wanted to try mending the bonds with her brother.

“Arthur,” she said, stepping back to look him in the eyes. “It will take some time, but...I would like to find out what it’s like to have a brother again. A real brother.”

He looked at her in disbelief for a moment before smiling. “I’d like that,” he said.

She smiled back lightly. “Also, if you wouldn’t mind, could you come by again? It’ll be pretty lonely with just me and Percival here. And we can hopefully retry to figure out what it’s like to be siblings.”

He gave her a nod with a smile. “Sure, Amalia,” he said as she let go of his hand and let him walk out of the room.

Anderson was on the other side and he cast her a look as the door opened and Arthur left. She said nothing to Anderson, but gave him a nod before she turned around, looking down at her cat, spotting his food and other self care items off by the door where Anderson had left them. She smiled lightly as she walked over for the food bowl.

Pulling the small dish from the bag, she frowned for a moment, thinking about Garrus. What would he make of this? She’d told him about her brother. He wondered what would happen if the two were to meet. She grimaced. Garrus might try to attack Arthur if she wasn’t careful.

She glanced out the window of the room, thinking about Garrus. She wanted to contact him, but she knew they were probably monitoring any transmissions she may send. She didn’t want to bring any of her  _ Normandy _ crew into her situation, especially considering they hadn’t been with her for the destruction of the Alpha Relay. She wondered briefly how Garrus was. Last time they’d talked, she’d told him about the incident with the Relay and the batarians.

As that thought crossed her mind, her gaze lowered. She might never see him again. She might be executed, or forced to stay grounded for the rest of her life. Or maybe the Reapers would come and this whole trial would have been pointless.

Before she knew it, tears were sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto her hands. Suddenly, Percival was near her, rubbing his head against her leg as he purred lightly. The cat always seemed to know when she was upset. She smiled and reached down to stroke the beast, watching as his pale blue eyes closed lightly in pleasure as if he’d missed her touch.

“I missed you too, buddy,” she said softly, reaching down and picking him up. He didn’t protest, but instead allowed himself to be placed in her arms and carried to the small kitchen where she made him some food.

Whatever happened to her, she would keep fighting. She would keep going, if only so she could see the beautiful blue eyes and hear the wonderfully sexy voice of her best friend and lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo~
> 
> So...it's been a hot minute since I've updated on here. I probably should have said it after concluding the first act, but I decided to go on a slight hiatus. Partly to try to get more inspiration for future chapters, and partly to try to settle into my new apartment and work on college and my off-campus job.
> 
> I also recently got into the games Among Us and Baldur's Gate 3. I'm having such a blast playing them and have even uploaded an episode of Among Us to my gaming YouTube, feel free to check it out if you're interested!
> 
> Anyway, I will be taking my time uploading this next act as I slowly try to get back into the grove of things, pick my motivation up by the bootstraps, and return to writing this story. While I will try to include major missions or decisions that will affect Amalia and Garrus's relationship for this story, I do intend to try writing some scenes of my own that were not in the game -- part of this is because we have a second character who wasn't in the cannon story: Amalia's brother. 
> 
> Also, please let me know what you think of Percival. I intend to have a few funny moments with Mali's fuzzy friend in the future.
> 
> As always, please leave kudos, comments, or bookmarks! And Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
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> Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI0MMQy48NKLdo7eNfIPrng


	15. Act 2 Chapter 1

Over the next few months, Arthur was a constant in her life, bringing her and Percival news, treats, and even company. While it took a while for Amalia to finally trust her brother again, she was grateful for him. His presence helped her not think about her friends -- her “ _ family _ ” as she liked to think of the  _ Normandy _ crew -- for the most part. Occasionally, he’d ask questions about what her team had been like, having known she travelled not just with humans, but with aliens.

She made sure to leave out the fact that she had a thing for one of her alien crew mates, not sure how he would take it.

She was also glad he was there as sometimes his presence would help her wind down when she got upset at the Alliance brass for going around and around in their endless loop. He was good for venting too, and likewise she allowed him to do the same.

He told her about his projects that weren’t classified that were part of the Alliance, having joined up while she was out of commission. She was happy to see he’d moved on and was straightening his life out.

She had yet to work up the courage to ask him about what happened to their parents. She knew it was a sensitive topic for him as it was part of why he’d left her and joined Cerberus. Today though, she told herself she would ask him.

The two of them sat on her couch across from each other. Percival was curled in her lap while she stroked the silver beast, while she considered how to broach the topic to him. Just as she’d thought she had the right words on her lips, the door suddenly hissed before it opened, one of her guards -- James Vega if she remembered correctly -- stepped in, saluting her.

She stood from her seat, Percival leaping from her lap, his collar gingling before he looked up at his owner as if to say “why’d you do that”.

“Commander,” Vega said, saluting.

She looked at him and frowned. “You’re not supposed to call me that, James.”

“Not supposed to salute you either. We gotta go, the defense committee wants to see you,” he said.

She looked at her brother, their eyes seeming to portray the same thoughts. Whatever was going down was serious. “Arthur…” she trailed off. She had a feeling she knew what it was, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

Without a word, he nodded and he began to move through her room, picking up items to pack. She smiled softly before nodding to Vega, following him out. “What’s going on?” she asked.

The muscular man shrugged. “Couldn’t say. They just told me they needed you.”

The red alarms in her mind started to shriek at her and she frowned, eyes narrowing. Her expression only became more serious when she noticed a familiar face walking towards her through the crowd.

“Anderson,” she greeted right before Vega said “Admiral.”

“You look good, Shepard. A little soft around the edges. How have you been holding up since you’ve been relieved from duty?” He asked as Vega started following them at a distance.

She shrugged. “Could be better, could be worse. Arthur has made the time more bearable.”

He gave her a nod. “Glad to hear it.”

She looked around, noting how rushed people were, even if they were walking. “What’s going on? Why is everyone in such a hurry?” she asked, even if she was dreading the anwer.

“Admiral Hackett’s mobilizing the fleets. I’m guessing word’s made it to Alliance Command...something big’s heading our way.”

_ Shit. _ She was right. The winding in her gut tightened, making it hard for her to think of anything but the fact that what she’d been doing for the last three years hadn’t been enough. Even though she knew it wouldn’t have been, she had hoped for more time. “The Reapers,” she said grimly.

“We don’t know, not for certain,” he said, looking at her.

She narrowed her eyes. She didn’t say anything, but he knew that look in her eyes. “What else could it be?” she questioned him.

“If I knew that…” he trailed off, giving her a meaningful look.

“You know we’re not ready for them. Not by a long shot.”

“Tell that to the defense committee,” he said, turning from her and beginning to lead the way again.

“Unless we’re planning to talk the Reapers to death, the committee is a waste of time.”

“They’re just scared. None of them have seen what you’ve seen. You’ve faced down a Reaper. Hell, you spoke to one...then blew the damn thing up! You’ve seen how they harvest us, what they plan to do to us. You know more about this enemy than anyone.”

“I understand why they grounded me after what happened with the relay. But they shouldn’t have waited for so long to call me.”

“I agree, but right now we need your help to do what you can to stop the Reapers,” he said.

She nodded and continued to follow him as he led her through some doors. A woman turned to them and nodded. “Admiral, they’re waiting for you two,” she said.

Anderson gave her a nod back before leading the way past the desk. As they got closer to the door, Vega stopped. “Good luck in there,” he said to her.

“Thanks,” she breathed, the tight coil in her stomach still wound up tight.

From behind her, she suddenly heard a familiar female voice. “Shepard.”

She turned and spotted a woman who had spat in her face the last time they’d spoken. “Ashley?”

“How’d it go in there, Lieutenant?” Anderson asked.

She shrugged. “Okay I think. Hard to know. I’m just waiting for orders now.”

“Lieutenant?” she was a bit surprised and she looked between her mentor and Ashley.

“You hadn’t heard?” Anderson glanced at her.

“No, I’m a bit out of the loop these days.”

“Sorry, Ma’am. Didn’t mean to keep you out of the loop.”

“I’m sure you had your reasons,” she said.

“Yeah, I suppose I did. Still it’s good to see you.”

“Admiral!” a soldier said, walking up to Anderson. The man glanced at Amalia and with a nod to her, she followed him into the room where the members of the Committee were gathered.

“Admiral Anderson, Shepard,” one of them greeted.

“What’s the situation?” she asked, crossing her arms as she looked up at them.

“We were hoping you could tell us,” he said.

She sighed softly. Of course. She glanced down as she was handed a datapad while a female member of the committee spoke. “The reports coming in are unlike anything we’ve seen. Whole colonies have gone dark. We’ve lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay.”

One of the other men spoke up. “Whatever this is, it’s incomprehensibly powerful.”

She felt a spike of anger shoot through them and she gave them all a stern look. “You brought me here to confirm what you already know. The Reapers are here.”

The entire room went quiet and fear became thick in the air. That coil inside her tightened. It was only a matter of time before the Reapers hit.

“Then, how do we stop them?” the female member asked.

“Stop them? This isn’t about strategy or tactics. This is about survival. The Reapers are more advanced than we are. More powerful. More intelligent. They don’t fear us, and they’ll never take pity on us.”

“But...there must be some way,” the woman pleaded.

Amalia glanced at everyone in the room. All eyes were on her. “If we’re going to have any chance of surviving this, we have to stand together.”

“That is? That’s our plan?”

“Admiral! We’ve lost contact with Luna base,” one of the soldiers suddenly called out.

“The moon? They couldn’t be that close already…”Anderson trailed off.

“How’d they get past our defenses?”

“Sir! UK headquarters has a visual.”

Everyone turned to look up at the screen which started off as a gray screen before a solider appeared, screaming something into the camera. There was a loud robotic sound before the signal was lost. The screen then began to display more and more images of Reapers all over the globe.

“Why haven’t we heard from Admiral Hackett?” Anderson asked, glancing at Amalia.

“What do we do?” one of the committee leaders asked.

She walked toward them and pointed at the screen. “The only thing we can. We fight or we die.”

The committee hung their head in defeat or shook them, looking at each other.

Behind her, she heard Anderson speak to her. “We should get to the  _ Normandy _ .”

That’s when they heard it. The sound of a large machine. People began to stand and walked toward the glass as from the clouds a Reaper descended, its legs stretching down as a beam powered up and began heading toward where they stood. “Move!” Amalia shouted, taking a few steps back before she turned and began to run, a desk flipping over her before the traces of the lazer sent her flying into the wall behind her. Her head smacked against the surface and she let out a grunt. Her vision was blurred and her head was ringing for a few seconds before she clutched her head in pain and sat up, Anderson’s voice calling her name making its way to her from the fog in her mind.

“Shepard, come on, get up,” he said. She stood and closed her eyes for a moment before he handed her a gun. “Here, take this, we’ve got to get moving,” he told her before he raced off.

She got to her senses before she followed him to the window while he tried to contact Ashley. Amalia wasn’t paying attention, her focus on the Reaper before them, watching it’s slow progress.

Then the two of them jumped down and began to race across the roof tops, taking out husks as they did so.

Just as she was heading towards a building, one of the reapers shot a blast towards them. She turned and just barely managed to evade the blast as it set part of the building on fire. She looked over at Anderson to see that he was okay before they moved inside.

As they were approaching two doors that were partially open, she spotted a husk which reached out to her. At such a close distance, she activated the blade which had been installed on her omnitool and she stabbed it right through the face, making it drop.

She then wedged herself between the door, pushing it open for Anderson to get through. Once he’d passed her, she was about to follow before she heard a sound nearby. Turning, she spotted an air vent which was open as a kid slowly began to crawl further into it.

“Hey,” she said, approaching the child and crouching in front of the vent.. “It’s okay…”

The boy backed up further and then met her gaze. “Everyone’s dying,” he said.

“Come here, I need you get you someplace safe,” she said, reaching out to him. “Take my hand.”

“You can’t help me,” he said.

Maybe not, but she sure as hell would try. She looked at the kid, desperately trying to get him to plead with him with her eyes. She lowered her hand slightly, just before Anderson called her name.

There came a soft growl as she turned to glance towards the man. Then she looked back at the child only to find him gone. She stared, confused before she stood, backing away from the vent and following him.

The two of them began to push their way through the rubble, talking as they went. At one point he glanced towards her. “We need to go to the Citadel, talk to the Council.”

She didn’t argue with him. She knew enough about the Reapers to know that while there was a fight here, there was bound to be fighting in other parts of the Galaxy. She wasn’t naive enough to think that it would only be affecting Earth, although it hurt to see so many innocents killed.

“The Council has to help us,” he said.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked.

“No, but you’re a Council Spectre. That has to count for something.” Perhaps, but she didn’t voice her thoughts out loud as the two of them continued to make their way through the rubble.

They fought some new monstrosities while they tried to get into contact with the  _ Normandy _ . She kept firing at them, hoping that Joker would hurry up, trying to keep the monsters off of them.

It wasn’t long before help arrived as the  _ Normandy _ blasted the monsters and then began to approach where they were. “Let’s go!” she said, racing toward the ship. The hatch lowered and she spotted Ashley and another guard standing, guns at ready as she leaped aboard.

“Welcome aboard, Shepard,” Ashley said.

“Thanks,” Amalia said with a nod toward the other woman who offered cover fire.

She looked back at Anderson who didn’t leap to join them. “Shepard,” he said. “I’m not going. You saw those men back there. There’s a million more like them, and they need a leader.”

Part of her didn’t want to believe him, even while she knew that he was right. “We’re in this fight together, Anderson,” she said.

“It’s a fight we can’t win. Not without help. We need every species and all their ships to even have a chance at defeating the Reapers. Talk to the Council. Convince them to help us.”

“What if they won’t listen?” she asked, both of them knowing full well that they never had in the past.

“Then make them listen. Now go! That’s an order.”

“I don’t take orders from you anymore, remember?”

He paused a moment, reaching into his pocket before he tossed something to her. Instinctively, she reached out and caught it, looking down at her dog tags.

“Consider yourself reinstated...Commander. You know what you have to do.”

She looked up at him. “I’ll be back for you, and I’ll bring every fleet I can,” she said before she turned. She paused, glancing back at him. “Good luck.”

He gave her a nod. “You too, Shepard.”

She nodded back before continuing further up the ramp. She paused once she stood behind Ashley, looking back at Anderson as he saluted her and began to grow smaller. She turned her head as a shuttle whisked past them, heading to a landing zone where soldiers were waving civilians inside. She stopped as Ashley headed further up the ramp, her eyes caught onto the small boy she’d seen in the vent. No one seemed to notice him as he looked around before climbing into the shuttle before it started to take off.

It didn’t get far before a beam from a Reaper shot it, causing the vehicle to crash and explode. She felt her heart break as she watched. She closed her eyes, turning away from the sight of her planet burning before she stepped away, heading into the ship.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to it being N7 day, I thought I would post the next chapter today. While I normally would have waited a day or so, I think it's the perfect way to celebrate. I just found out that ME remaster will be able to played on the PS4 which means I will be able to play it again! So if I'm still writing this story by then, I'll probably start remaking this play through to make the content better.
> 
> Anyway, while writing this chapter, I listened to "Leaving Earth" to help me get into the mood for this chapter and watched someone's play through in order to get the dialogue and some of the events correctly.
> 
> On a side note, last Tuesday on the 3rd, I got my hair dyed in order to honor Garrus Vakarian. I have a blue ombre that is super dark on the top and a sort of rich ocean blue on the bottom.
> 
> As always, if you liked this story, please comment, kudo, and/or bookmark!
> 
> ~ * Stay Frosty! * ~
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frostbite711/  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/Frostbite7111  
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> Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI0MMQy48NKLdo7eNfIPrng


	16. Act 2 Chapter 2

Amalia raced across the surface of Menae towards one of the Turian blockades, gunning down any husks and cannibals that got too close, Liara and Vega behind her. After boarding the  _ Normandy _ , Admiral Hackett had contacted her telling her about something on Mars so she and her crew made a stop at the base.

That was when shit had hit the fan. Cerberus has tried stealing data on something called “The Crucible” which could destroy the Reapers. They’d managed to rescue Liara and the data but Ashley had been hurt. Then they went to the Citadel to seek help and the council told her they couldn’t help.

Honestly, she hadn’t expected them to considering the Reapers were probably everywhere, but it had still hurt to hear that they couldn’t help her homeworld. Then the Turian councilor had told them to create a summit and get the Turian Primarch to come.

As they headed to Palaven’s moon, Amalia was grateful her brother had decided to stay with her — offering to stay aboard the Normandy and help with studying the synthetic body that had hurt Ash. But she was also worried, her heart in her throat as she remembered the last time she’d spoken to Garrus — about 6 months ago — that he was on Palaven. She was wound up, worry coiled in her stomach like a viper waiting to strike. She felt anxious and fearful that he was in trouble, but she did her best to keep it in the back of her mind, pushing it down so she could focus.

The team powered their way through the battle field until they came to the blockade and took out some more husks. She felt the grimness of the situation as they headed to speak to the General to get Primarch Fedorian.

It took her a quick scan of the blockade before she figured out who the General was. With a nod to Liara and Vega, she approached him. “General?” she called out to get his attention from the screen he was looking at.

He glanced over at her as she approached, but kept his focus on the screen. “Commander Shepard. Heard you were coming, but I didn’t believe it. General Corinthus,” he introduced.

“I’ve come to get Primarch Fedorian.”

That caused him to pause. He looked straight ahead for a moment before lowering his head sadly. She felt a stone hit against the coil inside, knowing the fate of the Primarch before he even spoke. “Primarch Fedorian is dead. His shuttle was shot down an hour ago as it tried to leave the moon.”

She sighed. “Well, that complicates things. How bad is it General?” she asked.

“We just lost about four hundred men in half an hour. We set up camps on this moon as an advance position, to flank the enemy. A sound strategy. Just…” he trailed off.

“Irrelevant,” she responded.

He gave her a glance. “Exactly. The sheer force of the Reapers seems to make them immune to that sort of tactic. The primarch and his men found that out the hard way.”

She closed her eyes briefly. “I’m sorry, I hear he was a good man.”

He nodded softly. “And a friend. He would have been an outstanding diplomat.”

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“The Turian Hierarchy provides very clear lines of succession,” Liara chimed in.

She gave the asari a nod of acknowledgment. “Right. General Corinthus?”

He took a light step back. “With such heavy casualties, it’s hard for me to be certain who the next primarch is. Turian Command will know.”

She recalled the conversation she’d caught when she’d approached. “And the comm tower is down,” she reasoned.

He glanced at her, his mandibles flicking out just slightly in a Turian smile. “Correct. Husks are swarming that area, we can’t get close enough to repair it.” As he spoke, he showed the map of the area, pointing out where the Comm tower was.

She gave a grim nod. “We’ll go take care of it,” she said before she and the squad headed out to take care of the husks and to repair the tower.

She and the others took out the husks with relative ease, but when she tried to repair the tower, she realized she couldn’t do it. She swore softly, if her brother was with them, he could repair it. She’d have to ask him to try coming along next time. She looked at Vega and Liara, taking into account their skills. Shepard herself wasn’t really good at tech, and she didn’t know Vega well enough.

“Liara, try to repair the com tower, we’ll keep the husks off you,” she said.

Liara nodded. “Much appreciated, Shepard.”

She gave her a nod in response and glanced at James. This would be a good time to see what the man was capable of and how well he took orders. With a handsignal, she directed him to take the husks from one direction while she took the other as the reaperized victims ran toward them. She hunkered down in her spot for a moment before pulling out her assault rifle and gunning down the creatures that got within her range.

When there was a slight pause in the battle, she glanced over to see Vega holding his own. She smiled slightly. Only time would tell how well he kept up with the pressure. His enthusiasm reminded her of a certain bright-eyed Turian C-Sec officer. She mused to herself how times had changed.

While she was thinking about the past, she didn’t realize how close the husks had gotten until she heard James’s shout and one suddenly grabbed her with its claws. She let out a yelp and started struggling to pull from its grasp while more of them approached.

Suddenly, she heard the unmistakable sound of a sniper rifle going off and a bullet hit the husk in the skull. Downing it instantly.

She didn’t wait to see who had shot the bullet as she spun, firing with her assault rifle in one hand while the omniblade swiped the husks in her other.

When all of her attackers were down, she finally paused to take a look as Liara came up besides her. She looked around to see if she could find her savior, but they weren’t there.

She gave a quick scan of the husk that her savior had downed before looking up as more husks started arriving. “General Corinthus, do you read? The com tower is up and running again.”

“Got it. I’m contacting Turian Command,” he said.

“I’ll stay and help your men,” she announced, gunning down some incoming husks.

“Much appreciated,” he responded.

There was radio silence for a few minutes before the general’s voice came back over the line. “I just received information from Turian Command. Please return ASAP.”

“On our way.” She signaled to Liara and James from across the battle, even though they’d also heard the comm, and headed back to the General.

When she reached him, she stopped and shifted her feet lightly, her rifle resting in her hands before she holstered it. “What have you got?” she asked.

“As your partner said, succession is usually simple. But right now, the hierarchy is in chaos -- so many dead or MIA.”

She bit the inside of her lip because of course things were never simple. “I need someone -- I don’t care who, as long as they can get us the turian resources we need,” she told the general while he glanced away.

Suddenly she heard a very familiar voice. One who she heard in her dreams. “I’m on it, Shepard. We’ll find you the primarch,” the voice said.

She turned her attention away from the General and she felt relief wash over her, lifting a weight off of her shoulders and uncoiling part of the snake that was inside her. Garrus, the man she loved and her best friend, was walking towards them, his tell-tale sniper in his grasp.

“Garrus” she breathed softly, and before she could stop herself, she’d rushed forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. She didn’t care who was watching, she had missed him. Missed having him around and confiding in him. Arthur was getting there for her, but he could never replace Garrus, and she would never want him too. She was not Commander Shepard at this moment, but Amalia, a simple squishy human who had fallen for her best friend.

The turian in kind seemed slightly surprised at her reaction, but after a moment, he slid one of his hands to wrap around her and he pulled from the kiss. His mandibles flicked out in a small smile. “I take it you missed me,” he said softly, his voice husky in that way that always managed to make her feel weak in the knees.

“More than you know,” she said, a smile on her face, her eyes bright.

There came a cough from someone clearing their throat, bringing the two back to the present. Reluctantly, Amalia pulled away from Garrus and slipped back into her Commander mask, noting the slight looks of surprise on the faces of Corinthus and James. She ignored them to focus on the situation.

“Vakarian, I didn’t see you there,” Corinthus said, eying Garrus like he wanted to bring up what had just happened, but knew now wasn’t the best time.

“At ease, General,” he said before focusing his gaze on Amalia.

“I thought you’d be on Palaven.”

“If we lose this moon, we lose Palaven. I’m the closest damn thing we have to an expert on Reaper forces, so I’m...advising.”

She frowned but gave a nod, understanding. He, more than any of the other various Normandy squad members, had been with her the longest, thus knowing the most about the Reapers. It was then she realized she should introduce her new squad member to Garrus. Stepping to the side, she waved the other human soldier over. “James, this is Garrus Vakarian. He helped me stop the Collectors. He’s one hell of a soldier,” she said.  _ And one hell of a kisser, _ she thought.

“Lieutenant. Good to see you too, Liara,” he said, nodding toward Liara.

“Good to see you in one piece, Garrus,” she responded, smiling and casting a knowing glance between Garrus and Amalia.

“General Corinthus filled me in. We know who we’re after.”

“Palaven Command tells me that the next primarch is General Adrien Victus,” Corinthus chimed in.

“Victus? His name’s crossed my desk,” Liara said, causing Amalia to give her a curious look before focusing on Garrus.

“Know him, Garrus?”

He nodded. “I was fighting alongside him this morning. Lifelong military. Gets results, popular with his troops. Not so popular with military command -- has a reputation for playing loose with accepted strategy.”

“What do you mean?”

Liara stepped up and answered. “On Taetrus, during the uprisings, his squad discovered a salarian spy ring about the same time the turian separatists did. Rather than neutralize the ring, he fell back. He even gave up valuable fortifications, which the rebels took.”

“Then the rebels attacked the salarians. And when both groups had worn each other down, Victus moved back in. Didn’t lose a single man,” Garrus finished.

“Bold strategy, but wild behavior doesn’t get you advanced up the meritocracy,” Corinthus said.

“Think he can get the job done?” she asked.

“We both know conventional strategy won’t beat the Reapers. Right now he could be our best shot. And I trust him.”

Amalia pursed her lips. If Garrus trusted him...then she would trust him as well. They’d both been through too much for her to disregard those he trusted. “Okay. Let’s get him on a shuttle and get out of here.”

Just as Garrus unholstered his rifle and they were prepared to move out, her comms came on. “Commander! Shepard come in!”

She sighed and put her hand to her come unit. “Can this wait a minute, Joker? We’re in the middle of a war zone.”

“We’ve got a situation on the  _ Normandy _ , Commander. It’s like she’s possessed. Shutting down systems, powering up weapons. I can’t find the source.”

“What about Arthur?” she asked, remembering her brother -- a tech expert -- was on board.

“He’s not responding.”

_ Shit. _ “I need the  _ Normandy _ standing by: we may have to bug out.”

“Should I go back and take a look?” Liara volunteered.

Shepard gave her a grateful look. “Do it,” she said.

Liara nodded and raced off, heading back to the landing zone. Then Shepard glanced towards Garrus. “Garrus, you said you were with Victus this morning?”

“Yeah, but we go separated. He went to bolster a flank that was breaking. Could be anywhere out there.”

“We’re trying to raise him, Commander,” Corinthus said.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers shouted, “Incoming Harvester, headed for the air field.

All three of them unholstered their weapons and aimed, shooting at the creature as it flew overhead, letting out a screech before flying off.

“General, tell primarch Victus we’ll rendezvous here,” Shepard said before turning to Garrus and James. “In the meantime, let’s go take care of whatever that thing dropped off. Coming Garrus?” she asked.

“Are you kidding? I’m right behind you,” he said.

She smiled briefly before turning and leading the way to the field. It was nice having someone familiar on the battlefield with her, she didn’t have to worry about where he was, knowing he was watching her six.

While they were shooting down husks, a new type of reaperized monstrosity appeared. James made a comment about them looking like Turians and she had to agree grimly. She hated the Reapers and what they did. After the airfield was clear, she cast a glance at Garrus to see his expression matched her own.

Then Corinthus’s voice came over the comms. “Shepard, come in.”

“Go ahead.”

“Still trying to raise the primarch -- but we’ve got trouble back here at the main barricade. If the Reapers breach it, we’re done.”

“On my way!” she responded before she and the team raced for the other side of the camp. Climbing up the ladder, she was directed to take the turret while Garrus and James each took a side. The three of them began to shoot at the husks which kept approaching the camp, stopping them from getting too far.

At least until another reaperized creature she didn’t recognize appeared.

“What is that thing?!” James shouted.

She didn’t have time to answer before the creature came barreling towards the barricade. “Brace yourself!” she shouted right before it knocked into the wall, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the ground behind it.

“Amalia!” Garrus shouted, as the creature beat at it’s chest and roared.

Then the creature came barreling towards her. She let out a yelp and dodged to the side, pulling out a grenade and chucking it. Her attack did practically nothing as it shook itself just a tad and then charged at her again.

She bit her lip, aiming her gun and firing while she tried to get away. Suddenly, gun fire started to draw its attention from her so she could get her bearings. She took a deep breath before firing again at the monster with her assault rifle. A few husks tried to corner her but she smacked them away and then shot them.

James and Garrus had hopped down from the barricade and had joined the fight on foot, shooting husks and the other monster while dodging it’s attacks. It was a challenging fight, but eventually, the creature let out a roar as it tried moving towards her before it collapsed.

Her comms went on again. “Shepard, Corinthus here.”

“What’s the word on the primarch?” she asked, her gun in one hand while she answered him.

“Still can’t get a stable comm link.”

She sighed. “Okay, we’re going on foot. Shepard out,” she said and gave a quick jerk of her head to Garrus to lead the way. “Garrus, take me to the last place you saw Victus.”

He gave her a nod in return and took the lead. Despite being in a battle field, her eyes glanced toward his ass as he walked. While she usually didn’t see herself as one for lewd thoughts, she hadn’t seen him for 6 months. She missed him... _ a lot. _ Then she was reminded of where they were when she heard the sound of a Reaper laser.

“How far?” she asked as she brought herself to the present.

“Should be pretty quick, unless we find trouble.”

After a few moments of silence, Garrus spoke up again. “Damn it. Look at Palaven. That blaze of orange -- the big one -- that’s where I was born,” he said. She paused a moment and glanced up, feeling her heart twist for him. She knew he was probably feeling the same sense of dread that she had when she’d seen earth ablaze.

“That’s rough,” James said. “Still have family there?”

“My dad, a sister.”

“How bad is it?”

“Three million lost the first day, five the second.”

Damn, that was a lot of people. “How’s your military holding up?” Amalia asked.

“Look around. That should give you some idea.”

“You’re putting up a good fight.”

“For now, but how long’s it take before the fight’s kicked out of you? If only they’d listened to your warning about the Reapers. We might’ve been ready.”

“Maybe. Hard to figure how you prepare for something like this,” James said.

She pursed her lips in agreement. She felt a weight press down on her shoulders, seeing how bad the situation was. If every planet in the system was like this….she didn’t know how they would defeat the Reapers. She’d been fighting them for three years, even if she’d been out of duty for some of that time. It felt like a lifetime ago when all she had to worry about was rising in the ranks of the Alliance military.

As they were walking, Husks started crawling up from the sides, coming at them. She hissed and fired at them. Once they were down, James spoke up.

“Shit! I hate those things!”

She silently agreed with him on that.

“And New York is crawling with the creepy bastards! Ahh, never should have left Earth.”

“It’s gonna be bad all over,” Garrus said.

“Leaving the fight just pisses me off.”

“But you’re here asking Victus to do the same thing. Leave the fight to make nice in some boardroom.”

She understood their points, but there wasn’t much they could do about it if they wanted to save their worlds. “This summit is the only chance we’ve got. None of us is beating the Reapers alone.”

They continued on their way a little longer in silence, focusing on the path. As they walked a ship crashed almost on top of them with no survivors. She felt a spike of sadness prick her, but she pushed on.

“So, Lola...You really think this summit is going to work? I mean asari? Salarians? Where’s the krogan and the batarians? Where’s the meat?”

“It’s not that easy.”

“The batarians took the first hit when the Reapers arrived. Not much left of them...” Garrus chimed in.

She winced a bit, remembering the Alpha Relay incident. She’d done her best to try saving the colony. The deaths still weighed heavily on her mind.

“And the krogan have never forgiven us for the genophage.”

“Right. Turians sterilized them.”

“Salarians came up with it.”

“And the krogan hate them both for it,” she interjected.

“So they won’t be joining us,” Garrus finished.

“Too bad. I fought with a krogan. They’re tough sons of bitches,” James said.

Garrus and Shepard shared a look, a small smile on both of their faces, remembering the two krogans they’d fought alongside: Wrex and Grunt.

Again they lapsed into silence as they continued forward. It wasn’t long before there came the sound of something crashing into the moon’s surface nearby.

“That sounds bad!” James shouted

“Okay, double-time!” she shouted, picking up her pace. “No Reaper’s taking this primarch from me!”

“Right behind you!” he responded as they raced into the camp while reaper forces began to drop before them.

They spread out and began attacking the monstrosities, moving fluidly around each other. At some point, Amalia found herself facing some marauders which she gunned down pretty quickly. Then, behind her she heard a bark of pain and she spun, spotting the two Brutes which had moved past her and were surrounding Garrus.

Her heart leapt up in her throat at his situation. Fear of losing him sent her racing towards him, but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time.

“GARRUS!” she shrieked.

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow around her and her surroundings began to blur, melding into a blue light. Before she knew it, she’d shot forward at the speed of a bullet, grabbing Garrus and shoving him out of the way.

She came to the realization of her sudden super-natural charge right before Garrus shouted her name. Her eyes widened as she looked up, not fast enough to dodge the oncoming attacks of the Brutes.

Then it turned out she didn’t need to. As her fear came to the surface louder than she’d ever felt before, a blast of blue shot from her body in a wave of energy. The energy hit the Brutes, making them stumble back and giving her time to dart away from them, chucking a grenade and loading them with bullets.

Adrenaline had kicked in overdrive as she fought them, Garrus and James joining in. Eventually, the two monsters fell and as they did, she felt her high start to decline. Her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. As she tried to get her barring and fought the sudden wave of dizziness, she felt a three fingered hand touch her shoulder before lightly gripping her arm as if to steady her.

Her head turned to look up at the shocked face of Garrus. “Amalia...I didn’t know you were biotic,” he said.

She groaned softly, feeling her muscles protest as she forced herself to move towards the primarch. “Yeah well...my abilities don’t manifest often. I sometimes forget I even have them,” she responded. As they approached Victus, she tried to think of the last time she’d used them. “The last time they manifested was on Akuze,” she said softly.

Garrus shot her a look and he reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulder in a brief hug. Then he let go as they approached the General.

“General Victus?” she asked.

“Yes?” Said a turian with dark face plates and armor which glowed red.

“I’m Commander Shepard of the _ Normandy _ .”

“Ah, Commander, I know who you are. I can’t wait to find out what brings you out here,” he said before putting his hands behind his back and looking at Garrus.

“Vakarian -- where did you go?”

“Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank. I believe your exact words were: ‘Get that thing the hell off my men’.”

“Appreciate it.”

Shepard stepped forward. “General, you’re needed off planet. I’ve come to get you.”

“It will take something beyond important to get me to leave my men, or my turian brothers and sisters, in their fight.”

“Fedorian was killed. You’re the new primarch,” Garrus said.

“You’re needed immediately to char a summit and represent your people in the fight against the Reapers,” Shepard added.

His face was unreadable for a moment before he stepped past her, looking up at his homeworld. “I’m primarch of Palaven? Negotiating for the turian hierarchy?” he asked, his voice full of disbelief.

“Yes.”

He then turned to face the group, focusing his gaze on Shepard. “I’ve spent my whole life in the military, I’m no diplomat. I hate diplomats.”

“What makes you think you’re not qualified?”

“I’m not really a ‘by the book’ kind of guy...and I piss people off. My family’s been military since the Unification War. War is my life. It’s in my bones. But that kind of passion is...deceptive. Can make you seem reckless when you’re anything but.”

“War is your resume. At a time like this, we need leaders who’ve been through that hell,” she said.

“I like that. You’re right.”

“And honestly, uniting these races may take as much strength as facing the Reapers.” She turned from him and walked towards one of the cliff faces before turning to face him. “See this devastation, Primarch? Double that for Earth. We need an alliance. We need the turian fleet.”

He stood there for a moment before walking over to her, stopping a few paces away. “Give me a moment to say goodbye to my men.”

She gave him a nod and watched as he turned away.

Garrus walked over, glancing around before focusing on her. “Without him down here, there’s a good chance we lose this moon.”

“Without him up there, there’s a good chance we lose everything.”

He gave a light nod and then focused on the Reaper in the distance. “Look at that! And they want my opinion on how to stop it? Failed C-Sec officer, vigilante...and I’m their expert advisor?” He glanced toward her. “Think you can win this, Amalia?”

She sighed and looked down for a moment. “Yeah, I don’t know, Garrus. But I’m sure as hell going to give it my best shot.”

He turned to face her fully. “I’m damn sure nobody else can do it. For whatever it’s worth, I’m with you,” he said.

She gave him a light smile and reached out, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. She was glad he was willing to jump once more into hell with her. “I’m glad you are,” she said before she let go and looked towards Victus. “Are you ready, Primarch Victus?”

The turian turned towards the two of them. “One thing. Commander, I appreciate your need for our fleets, but I can’t spare them. Not while my world is burning. But if the pressure could be taken off Palaven…” he trailed off.

She frowned. “What do you have in mind?”

“We need the krogan. I can’t see us winning this thing without them. Get them to help us, and then we can help you.”

She tipped her head to the side in thought. “The krogan…”

“Looks like your summit just got a lot more interesting,” Garrus remarked before Shepard and the others headed back to the shuttle that would take them to the  _ Normandy. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I wanted to let you guys know why Amalia suddenly has Biotic powers. As she explains, she only gets it when she's in life or death situations when her emotions are all over the place. She'd just gotten Garrus back and he was about to die, not to mention she is still afraid for her home and her people and pissed off that the council and the other politicians didn't listen to her.  
> Amalia's biotic abilities come as a sort of shockwave that helps push enemies back, as well as the biotic charge. She has very little control on when these activate as they only come out in high stress moments.
> 
> Some of you are probably now asking why the never appeared in ME1 or ME2, well in ME1, she didn't have as many times where her emotions were worn out and her teammates/friends almost died -- at least that she was able to reach.   
> Then in ME2, she went in to the Collector base knowing full well she might die, and not having Garrus with her helped ease her mind to a degree so she wasn't focusing on watching him to keep her sanity.
> 
> \- - -
> 
> Out of story reason: I played her as a Vanguard in ME1, then switched to Soldier. I really wish you could use biotic powers with all the guns like you can in MEA, so this is my compromise. Enjoy!
> 
> \- - -
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it. And I'm sorry for the long gap between chapters, I've been busy changing jobs and trying to write more chapters as I want to make this story as accurate as I can to how it plays out. I will be trying to add or subtract dialogue from the scripted dialogue in the game ass I see fit, but since I can't play the game myself until the Legendary Edition comes out, I have to rely on other people's Youtube videos.
> 
> Also....HAPPY THANKSGIVING FELLOW AMERICANS!
> 
> And as always, if you liked this story, please comment, kudo, and/or bookmark!
> 
> Have a beautiful and wonderful day, and don't forget to Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
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	17. Act 2 Chapter 3

By the time they reached the  _ Normandy _ , it seemed all had been settled. Or at least enough that there weren’t people running around like chickens with their heads cut off, allowing Amalia to show the Primarch and Garrus around the modified ship before leaving the two of them to contact the other race leaders to participate in the summit.

After her visit with the Asari councilor who refused to show up, she was contacted by Hackett. He informed her of the current situation of the fleets and she couldn’t help but feel a whole new weight settle upon her shoulder. She left the comm room feeling any triumph she’d had of saving the primarch had been squashed.

This whole thing was turning out to be one big shitshow and she, a soldier, was now supposed to play at being a diplomat like Victus. She supposed that helped her sympathize with his situation, but it didn’t make anything easier.

She chatted with the Primarch to make sure of his stance before leaving him in the war room while she headed to the main battery where Victus had said Garrus had gone. The way down the elevator was quiet with just her and her thoughts. Right now she wanted nothing more than to lock herself in her room and cry over the death of so many people, but she still had to check out EDI’s AI processor where no doubt her brother and Liara now were as well as visit Garrus.

She allowed herself a brief moment to slump against the walls of the elevator and to take a deep breath before she slipped a mask on that was way more put together then she felt. She made sure to nod and say hello to some of the other crew as she passed them, keeping that mask on until she reached the main battery.

The door opened as she approached and she looked into to see Garrus next to the giant gun, tweaking something. She smiled at the sight of him, feeling that weight lifting off her shoulder just slightly at the sight of him as he turned and met her gaze, smiling at her. “Didn’t waste time getting to work, I see,” she said as she approached him.

He chuckled and his mandibles flared lightly. “I figure with this war we’re going to need guns, and lots of them.”

She let out a huff of agreement and glanced toward the gun. “Can’t argue with that,” she said.

He put his tools down and stood, facing her fully. Her eyes met him and she felt that familiar tug that had gotten her to hug him earlier nudging her to do so again, but she held back.

“So…” he drawled out, shifting just a bit. “I’m still a little unsure about that kiss you gave me back on Menae. Was that an ‘in the moment’ kind of kiss or a reunion kiss?” he asked. “Because if it’s the former, then I’m unsure as to if you still feel the same way about me even after all these months. I remember the scars drove you wild. I can go get new ones if it’ll help,” he reached up and lightly gestured towards the scars which no longer needed a bandage to help keep his face together.

She smiled softly at him. “Garrus,” she said as she reached out and took his hand with one of hers, entwining their fingers so they fit just right. “Nothing could ever change how I feel about you,” she said before she leaned up and gave him a light kiss on his scarred mandible. Then she gave him another kiss on the lips.

His mandibles flicked out and his eyes sparkled. She felt a pain in her chest lighten. “Good. Because it would take a lot more than Reapers to come between this cross-species liaison.” He grabbed her other hand and held it between them as he leaned down and rested their foreheads together.

She laughed softly and let go of his hands to wrap her arms around his body in a hug. “I missed you. You have no idea how hard it was not knowing if I’d ever get to see you again,” she said softly.

“Mmmm,” he rumbled, resting his chin on the top of her head while he hugged her back.

Here in his arms, she felt safe and able to be herself. She didn’t have to be Commander Shepard, she didn’t have to be the Hero of the Citadel, she didn’t have to work to be a better sister. Here she was Amalia. A squishy, broken human who fell in love with her best friend. Before she knew it, she felt silent tears streaking down her face and her shoulders shook.

“Amalia?” Garrus suddenly asked, having felt her shoulders and hearing her soft heaves of breath. He pushed her away to look into her face, concern flickering in his gaze...on his face. “Hey, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?” he asked, reaching out to wipe the tears away.

She laughed slightly. “I’m fine it’s just...so much has happened within the last few days. I haven’t had time to breathe until now.”

He was silent for a moment before he leaned forward and lightly nuzzled her. “I understand. With Earth being as bad as it is, it’s amazing that you are standing here.”

She smiled and reached a hand up to brush his unscarred mandible softly. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. We still have the Reapers to destroy.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess we do,” he said with a smile.

Reality set in, although she stayed in his arms as she considered their next moves. “So...What’s this ‘Reaper Task Force’ I’ve been hearing about? And you’re the expert advisor on Reapers now?” she asked.

He suddenly looked sheepish and he removed a hand to rub the back of his neck. “It’s not as impressive as it sounds. I ruffled some feathers so they gave me a token title along with a token task force so I’d shut up.”

She smirked at him, pulling away and crossing her arms. “How’d you manage that?”

He gave her a look, his cocky smirk appearing. “Just followed your example. Yell loud enough and eventually someone will eventually come over to see what all the fuss is about.”

She chuckled at that. She sure did a lot of yelling a few years ago.

“Not that they’ll actually do anything about it.”

“Until hell shows up at their door, then they put you in charge,” she said, her smile fading.

He let out a light chuckle, but there was no humor in it. “Not like the old days is it,” he said, pulling away from her and heading toward the consoles. “Rogue spectre and C-Sec agents running and gunning around outside the lines, making it up as we went along. We’re actually respectable now.”

A smile ghosted her lips at the memories. It was strange to think that all this had happened three years ago, back in a different time, a different life even. Then she sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. “Yeah, I have an idea that a lot of that respect comes with a lot of sleepless nights,” she said, looking down. “I can’t even tell you how many lives are depending on us Garrus.” Now more so than ever, her dreams were haunted by the past. She didn’t tell him, but she’d had a nightmare after they’d left Mars, the dream made her want to shudder, but she kept herself in check.

She suddenly felt a gentle hand under her chin and she looked up to see he’d closed the distance between them, looking into her eyes. “Well, when things are looking grim, just remember,” he paused and his mandibles flared out in a turian smile, “We’re in this together.”

This brought a smile back to her face and she let go of herself to reach up and lightly stroked his scarred mandible, staring into his eyes. “Always. There is no Shepard without Vakarian.”

“And there is no Vakarian without Shepard,” he replied back before leaning down and touching their foreheads together. His mandibles flicked out again. “And if this ends with both of us dying in a blazing inferno. Just remember, I took the kill shot.”

She laughed lightly. “Always so confident,” she said.

“You know me,” he said, his eyes sparkling.

She smiled brightly and then leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips again. It was then that their brief moment of intimacy was broken as the door hissed open and a surprised sound came from the intruder.

Amalia and Garrus pulled away to look and Amalia immediately distanced herself from Garrus as she noticed it was her brother. For some reason, shame and embarrassment washed over her and she felt her face go red as she looked down.

“Wh-what did I just see?” her brother asked, shock clear in his voice.

Amalia looked up sheepishly, pushing a strand of loose hair out of her face. “Uh….” she didn’t know how to tell him. She hadn’t told him about her relationship, although thinking about it now, she probably should have...except for the fact that Garrus wasn’t human.

That’s when Garrus seemed to realize who this new human was and his gaze darkened. His eyes darted to Amalia and back. “Amalia....what is your brother doing here?” he growled softly.

All embarrassment faded as Garrus took a step towards her brother who’s eyes widened. Sensing the oncoming clash, she darted forward and placed herself between her brother and Garrus. “Garrus, please. Let me explain,” she began.

He crossed his arms and looked at her. “Yes, I would love an explanation. Why would you let him on this ship after what he did to you?”

Her brother flinched and then moved to try to step in front of her. She whirled on him and glared. “Arthur, no. Let me handle this,” she said, her voice commanding. He blinked and looked at her, seeming surprised by her tone, but he said nothing, only opened his mouth to say something before shutting it tightly with a snap.

“Arthur was there for me during my incarceration. He came to me shortly after being grounded and kept me company. I...there still are a lot of things we need to fix, but he didn’t know about what happened to me after he left. You can’t blame him for other people’s actions.”

“What about Akuze?”

Both she and her brother froze, the air stilled. Suddenly, she was back on that cold planet, hearing the screams of her squad as the Thresher Maws snatched them up. The smell of death and her blood seeping into the snow as she crawled away, desperately trying to save herself. The numbing feeling of her biotics as they faded, having created a shockwave to save her from the Maws. She felt herself begin to shake as the memories began to overwhelm her. She let out a sound and her legs gave out.

But before she could hit the floor of the Main Battery, one pair of hands gripped her from behind while three-fingered talons lightly stroked her cheek, while the other hand went to touch the back of her head, lightly stroking the loose strands of hair at the end of her bun. She barely registered the sensations above the screaming in her head.

“I’m sorry Amalia, I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” softly came the dual flanged voice of her best friend. He let out a soft purr and slowly brought her back to the present. She blinked at him before relaxing into his grip, not even caring that her brother was watching, now having stepped back.

She focused on Garrus’s ice blue eyes as she relaxed her breathing, not really paying much attention to the conversation between her brother and Garrus.

“I’m...sorry about what happened there. I didn’t know at the time, and it wasn’t until we got to experimenting on Toombs that I realized just how awful Cerberus was.”

Garrus rumbled in reply, but said nothing. He then focused on Amalia, making sure she had returned to the present. “Are you with us now Amalia?” he asked her.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Garrus then stood, one of his hands moving to hold hers. Not that she needed the help to stand, but she was grateful for his support as she turned around to face her brother.

His expression was unreadable, but she didn’t think he was happy.

“What was it that you came in here for?” she asked him.

“Oh, right! We need you in the AI Core...something’s happened to EDI.”

She blinked. “Alright, let’s go,” she said. She glanced back at Garrus and mouthed to him softly ‘to be continued’. He gave a light tip of his head in acknowledgment, before he turned and began to work.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, Arthur fixed his questioning and even...angry gaze on her. “Mali, how could you-”

She rounded on him, her eyes narrowing. “How could I what?”

He faltered for a moment before gesturing slightly towards the Main Battery doors. “You kept this from me...and a Turian? Really?!” he questioned.

“Listen, you were gone from my life for over ten years, you don’t get a say on what I can and can’t do. And that  _ Turian _ is one of my closest friends in the entire galaxy. He’s been more like family to me then you have.”

“But Mali…” he trailed off.

She crossed her arms and raised her brows. “But what?”

“Turians killed our parents.”

She blinked, let that new nugget of knowledge seep through her. “When?”

“During the First Contact War,” he said.

She cut him a look and sighed. “Garrus was barely a child then. You can’t blame him for his ancestors' mistakes, otherwise we become prejudiced and xenophobes.”

“I….” he looked down. “Does he make you happy?”

She gave him a curious look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Now it was his turn to cross his arms. “I saw you two kissing. Weird as it is, I want to know my baby sister is with someone that can make her happy.”

She sighed and thought back to the many times when Garrus had been there for her, helping support her and be a shoulder to cry on when she needed it. He and the others had brought so much light into her life. A soft smile ghosted her lips. “Yeah...he does make me happy.”

“Then I will do my best not to let my discomfort with his people get in the way of you two.”

She looked at him, slightly in awe. It was a huge step for him to be saying this considering how much hatred he’d told her he’d had after he’d found out what happened to their parents. She hugged him tightly and said, “Thank you.”

His arms wrapped around her and he patted her back. “You’re welcome, sis.”

After a moment or two, there was a sound from the AI core and the lights flickered. She quickly pulled from his grasp and met his gaze, her face serious as she slipped into her “Commander” mask. “Let’s go see EDI.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was intense. Nothing like an older sibling judging your relationship due to their own prejudices.
> 
> Frost: Arthur, calm down. The blue Turian isn't going to hurt your sister on purpose.
> 
> If you're wondering why I'm slowing down in my posting process, part of it is because the end of the year/school semester, part is my slowly dying motivation, and another part is the fact that I have no way to access the cannon info for ME3 so I'm doing a lot of "winging" it.
> 
> This will probably be my last update on my stories for the year 2020. I'll be going on a hiatus for the winter break while I spend time with my family. So I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
> 
> \- - -
> 
> And as always, if you liked this story, please comment, kudo, and/or bookmark!
> 
> Have a beautiful and wonderful day, and don't forget to Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frostbite711/  
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	18. Act 2 Chapter 4

So...EDI had a body now. Certainly not the weirdest thing she’d seen, but it was definitely up there near the top of her list. She supposed it would be helpful to have EDI able to help them on the field more with a body, not just with hacking things in person, but she would be able to help fight if the need arose.

Currently, she was in her cabin, musing over papers and the information of the leaders who were coming to the summit. The asari wouldn’t be attending, but it was just as well. Tensions would be high enough with Turians, Salarians and Krogans, no need to add more with the usually stuck up asari.

The  _ Normandy _ and her crew were currently on their way to Sur-Kesh now and she would be lying if she didn’t feel some dread at the arguments that were sure to arise from this. The only upside to this is that she would be able to see Wrex again. It had been a while since she’d spoken to him, much less seen him. She sat back in her chair and frowned. She had no clue what was going to happen, she just prayed no one would come to blows on her ship.

She knew it would be tricky to get the Krogans to work with either the Salarians or the Turians considering their history. She believed that at least it would be easier for them to work with the turians considering Wrex and Garrus got along pretty well, she hoped that Wrex wouldn’t hate Victus either.

Sighing, she leaned forward over her desk and after searching for some pen and paper, she started writing down some notes. She decided she’d write out possible scenarios to help her settle her mind better. And yes, it was old-school to use pen and paper, she preferred to write out these kinds of things in the traditional fashion.

She didn’t know what would happen at the summit. She hoped there wouldn’t be any problems. With that in mind, she stopped her writing and decided to head down to the docking bay to do some sparring to hopefully center her mind.

* * *

Garrus walked into the mess hall, wanting to get something to eat before he’d return to his work in the main battery. As he approached the counter, he saw a familiar shock of dark blond hair which belonged to Amalia’s brother as he sat before the coffee maker.

He eyed the man as he walked over, reaching into a cupboard. The tension between them felt so thick you’d have to use a saw to cut it. As they stood in silence, the human finally broke it when he finally poured himself a cup of the brown liquid and turned to face Garrus.

“Listen, it’s obvious how close you and Mali are. For her sake, I intend to be nice to you, but I don’t trust you.”

Garrus flicked his mandibles. At least they agreed on something. “I can see how much she trusts you if you’re aware of what happened to her after you abandoned her. But I have my eye on you as well. Amalia has been hurt too much already and is likely to go through much more before this war is over. If you hurt her or betray her again, I won’t hesitate to tear you apart, regardless of what she says,” Garrus said, growling softly.

“And there’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he remarked.

Garrus grabbed himself a dextro protein bar and looked at the male Shepard, confused at his phrasing of words. “Wolf in sheep’s clothing?”

The man rolled his eyes. “It’s a metaphor, for something dangerous hiding behind a guise of something not dangerous.”

He crossed his arms. “She and I have been through a lot together. We’ve both seen each other at our worst and gotten through it. That’s more than I can say for you. Whether you dislike me or not for whatever reasons you have, don’t make it harder for Amalia, she’s going through enough. She doesn’t need to worry about you and I being at each other’s throats.”

“On that, you and I can agree. I don’t have to like you, but I’ll work with you because she trusts you. Just don’t break that trust and you and I will get along fine,” male Shepard said.

“Likewise,” Garrus grunted, giving the man one last look before he turned around and finally, finally, grabbed what he’d come into the mess hall for.

As he turned to head back into the Main Battery, he caught sight of Liara standing off to the side, seeming to be observing the two of them. Or at least she had been, now she looked between them, a slightly thoughtful look on her face. Garrus narrowed his eyes and pulled his mandibles tight to his face.

He hadn’t gotten to interact with Liara much since Amalia’s initial death, but she’d grown colder, and kept more secrets now. Back when they’d first met, it’d been easy to read her thoughts, now, she was unreadable, a hardened warrior. It was strange to think of how far the asari had come in just three years. Then again, hadn’t he also changed?

He supposed he had, any of the original Normandy crew had. Only Amalia knew the depth of how jarring the personality changes had become having been...gone...for two years and then those extra 6 months during her trial where she was unable to speak to any of the Normandy crew. He didn’t know how Amalia handled it.

Shaking his head, Garrus returned to the main battery and, snacking on his bar, walked over to the computer to do some calibrations. The ship definitely needed his touch on the weapons if they were going to stand any chance against the Reapers.

While he was doing this, his mind drifted off to when they were on Menae and Amalia appeared in front of him in a blur of biotic blue energy as the two Brutes bore down on him. He didn’t remember her ever using biotics before in their time together. She had said they manifested very rarely, to the point where she usually forgot they existed. He found that peculiar, but he supposed it made sense. She’d had her emotions pretty frazzled seeing him almost die. He probably would’ve acted the same in her situation.

He frowned slightly, thinking about what she’d said. She said she has last used them on Akuze. He had known she hadn’t told him everything about what happened to her, the scars ran too deep. He trusted that she’d tell him in time if there was anything else she felt was extremely important.

His thoughts stilled just slightly as he returned to the revelation.  _ Last time they manifested was on Akuze _ . He knew she’d been terrified. Both of them had lost teams. He’d lost his due to betrayal and had returned to seem them dead. She’d watched them get slaughtered before her very eyes.

He shuddered, he could hardly imagine what that must’ve been like. The fact that she hadn’t decided to run away from her life in the military just spoke more of the strength she wielded. She even managed to face a freaking Thresher Maw on foot back on Tuchanka when they were hunting the collectors. She must have been terrified. Garrus hadn’t been as close to her then as he was now, she hadn’t told him yet of how deep her scars were. She’d put on a good front returning from that mission, aside from a grim look on her face.

Garrus sighed softly and shook his head. He’d known for a while now that she did a good job of putting on a brave face, even if inside she wanted to curl up and hide away from everyone. Her strength was inspiring, and he’d often looked up to her for that, even when they’d first met.

Rolling his neck and shifting his shoulders, the turian pulled himself from his thoughts of Amalia and began to work on his calibrations once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo my readers! I'm back from my upload hiatus. I am going to let you guys know now that I will be skipping over some of the main quest missions partly because I don't remember what goes on, and because I want to focus more on the character relationships and story development over the action. I may or may not include Kai Leng as I felt his introduction was just so.....awkward in ME3. If you guys have any ideas on how to fix Kai Leng, please comment below.
> 
> \- - -
> 
> And as always, if you liked this story, please comment, kudo, and/or bookmark!
> 
> Have a beautiful and wonderful day, and don't forget to Stay Frosty!
> 
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	19. Act 2 Chapter 5

As the team sat in the shuttle on the way back to the  _ Normandy _ , Shepard couldn’t make herself look up at anyone. She sat in one of the chairs, her hands folded to rest on her chin while she stared blankly at the floor. She kept seeing Mordin racing into that elevator over and over.

_ “Had to be me, someone else would have gotten it wrong.” _

He’d saved the Krogan and stopped the genophage, but at the cost of his life. She closed her eyes, tightening her fists on each other. They’d lost a good man with his death, and if the Reapers had it their way, plenty more good men and women would be lost.

She barely registered Garrus putting his hand on the back of her armor, lightly massaging it to try giving her some comfort. Eventually, she felt the shuttle stop and Garrus leaned over to her ear. “Come on, Amalia, we’re at the  _ Normandy _ ,” he said.

Solemnly, she nodded and pulled herself out of her thoughts. She looked up at him briefly, noting how his eyes softened at her look before she turned and stepped out of the shuttle. She then headed over to the lockers and with practiced ease, began to remove her armor, even though she wasn’t really focusing on it. Her mind was still on Mordin and his sacrifice. On the battlefield on Tuchanka. On the war that she knew was only going to get worse.

This war had only barely just begun and already she felt she was beginning to tear at the edges. But she wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t. Too many people were relying on her to rally the races together to fight back. Too many lives rested on her shoulders.

In a sort of daze, she walked toward the elevator and headed up to the CIC. She needed to debrief Hackett and Anderson on the Krogan. She needed to check in on the Crucible project. She needed to figure out the next move. She needed to--before she could think of anything else she needed to do, she stumbled over her own footing, her exhaustion beginning to hit her. Her hand shot out on instinct to catch her, only for that hand to be gripped by a three fingered talon while an arm snaked around her waist.

“Easy there, Amalia,” Garrus’s voice rumbled.

She blinked, bringing herself back to focus, noting his slight look of concern.

“I’m okay,” she replied.

He didn’t respond, but he let her go. She slipped from his grasp and headed through the war room and into the comm room where she contacted Hacket and Anderson and informed them of the updates. Once that was done, she stumbled out of the room and to the war table. She needed to figure out what to do next.

Garrus was standing by the table as she did so. He glanced at her as she leaned against it, taking a deep breath to steady her head which was suddenly spinning and throbbing with how exhausted she was. She hadn’t really had much time to stop and breathe since the Reapers came. Even that brief moment with Garrus after bringing him on board felt like a distant memory to her.

“You look exhausted...Mordin dying -- it can’t be easy,” he said.

Shaking her head a bit, she focused her gaze on the screen in front of her. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

He stopped what he was doing and put a hand on her shoulder, gently prying her gaze away from the table. “Amalia. You need to sleep. The world isn’t going to be destroyed in a few hours if you take a nap.”

“How do you know that?” she glanced at him.

“I don’t. But you’ll be no use to anyone dead or unable to stand up straight. If anything happens, we can wake you up. I know where you sleep,” he smirked.

She tipped her head at him and chuckled softly. Then she sighed and leaned into him. “I suppose a little rest wouldn’t hurt. But you might have to carry me to my room, I don’t know if I can make it there myself.”

He chuckled. “Oh, so now you admit you’re tired?”

“Mmmm. Only around you, big guy. Only around you,” she said, tilting her face to plant a light kiss on his unscarred mandible.

She felt him rumble softly at her touch before he wrapped his arms around her and helped guide her to her room.

The two of them ignored the rest of the crew, Amalia because she was focusing mostly on keeping herself from stumbling and Garrus because he was trying to make sure she didn’t collapse. She could tell he could sense how exhausted she was, even if she didn’t want to admit it because the galaxy needed her.

Once they’d reached the shelter of her room, Garrus brought her over to her bed where he finally let her go. She lowered herself to her bed and began removing her shoes. She barely reacted as his weight settled on the bed next to her as he sat.

She sighed and with her now bare feet, leaned against his chest. She didn’t care that armor separated him from her, she was just grateful he was there.

“Amalia, you need to get some sleep,” he rumbled, wrapping an arm around her while looking down at her.

She sighed. “I know. I’ve just been having trouble falling asleep lately,” she half-lied, not having the courage to tell him she hasn’t been able to sleep much since Earth was attacked.

“Hmmm, then will it help if I stay with you until you do?”

She smiled softly. “Yeah, I think it would,” she stifled a yawn.

“Alright then, let’s at least get you into something more comfortable.” Then he moved away from her and she was about to protest at the loss before he looked at her and he reached to begin helping her remove her army blues which she’d been wearing to meet Hacket and Anderson over comms. She reached up and began to unbutton her shirt, sliding it off her arms to reveal her tell-tale tank top. Then the two of them set about removing her pants so she was only in her black biker shorts.

He paused just briefly after they’d removed her clothes and he ran his hand gently up her legs, towards her torso. His expression was that of amazement and adoration. “I can never get over how soft you are.”

“Mmmm,” she responded, closing her eyes and leaning back on her hands as she relished the feel of his talons on her skin. She hadn’t felt his gentle touch in months and only now she realized how badly she’d missed it.

He was silent for a moment, seeming to watch her before he shifted his hand to lightly graze her cheek, touching the small scar that had come to take purchase on her face after the Reapers invaded -- right in the same place one of her old scars from Akuze had been. Then his hand moved up to her hair where he frowned as he seemed to be trying to undo the braided bun.

“How do you…?” he growled softly in frustration.

She laughed lightly and opened her eyes, lifting herself up to undo the bun. Once it was down, she shook out her hair, her pale blond locks falling down just past her shoulders. She watched his eyes widen at her hair and he took off one of his gloves to run his talons through the strands.

“I’ve never seen your hair this long.”

She met his gaze before glancing down at her lap. “Yeah...military regs don’t usually allow hair this long unless it’s pulled up.”

“I like it,” he purred, leaning down and gently nuzzling her cheek.

She froze for half a second before smiling and leaning into his touch, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Well then I’m glad I didn’t have the time or energy to cut it,” she said.

His mandibles flared out, lightly tapping her cheek before he pulled away and looked into her eyes, making their gazes meet. “Much as I’d love to continue talking with you, you need to rest. Come,” he said before he moved to the top of her bed where she moved to lay next to him.

She shifted her body into a comfortable position as he leaned up and grabbed her blankets, placing the sheets around her while he stayed on top of the sheets. Once they were both settled, he placed one arm behind her and gently began to run his talons through her hair. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. Despite the tiredness that nawed on her, she was glad he was there. His presence calming to her mind and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks, I had fun writing this chapter for two reasons: I wanted to play on Amalia's slowly deteriorating consciousness, which will lead into the plans I have for later, and I wanted to write a scene where Amalia takes her hair down in front of Garrus. Of course when I was playing the game last year, Amalia's hair stayed the jaw-length it was through the entire series, but I like to think that from ME2 - ME3 she allowed it to grow out more (and ngl, I am not a big fan of the updo hairstyles the original games had).  
> Rest assured, I am writing Act 2 Chapter 6, but it's probably going to take me a while due to my busy irl schedule.
> 
> \- - -
> 
> I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated, it's been crazy. I've been focusing a lot on doing my art, my homework, uploading gaming videos, and working that I've kind of neglected my stories for the most part. I'm slowly trying to get back into writing them, and hopefully with the Legendary Edition coming out soon, I'll be able to jump on the bandwagon (if I can afford it) and play through the games again to help me get inspiration for this story.
> 
> On a side note: this last Saturday my car's power steering fluid decided to start leaking again, so on Tuesday I got it towed to a mechanic. I should have my car back sometime either this week or next, although I'm hoping sooner rather than later as it's freezing out and I don't know enough people with cars who would be willing to drive me to and from home from work -- especially on my late nights.
> 
> I also am running low on money to pay my expenses due to my job only paying me $10 an hour and I'm only getting around 14 hours a week (not enough to pay my $530 rent plus other misc bills). Due to this low money situation, I'm unable to go see a Chiropractor even though I sorely need one -- I've been having a lot of pain in my right knee lately and I don't know why. I'm also having to conserve any money I have just for bills, making it hard to get groceries and I'm having to pull money from my savings account.
> 
> If you'd in some way like to help me, feel free to check out my Patreon (linked below) and choose a plan that fits you. I am soon going to be working on getting my commissions up and running so be looking forward to that.
> 
> \- - -
> 
> And as always, if you liked this story, please comment, kudo, and/or bookmark!
> 
> Have a beautiful and wonderful day, and don't forget to Stay Frosty!
> 
> If you guys want to contact me or keep up-to-date on my current/ongoing projects, you can find me at:  
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